Reverses Collide
by Lt-Tomoe87
Summary: Too deep, too dark. Eiri has a great voice but his lyrics are lacking. Too sappy, too short. Shuichi is a famous novelist, but even he has been having trouble with writing. Fate made their paths cross. Though, what defines them could split the path again.
1. Of All the Colors

Story : Reverses Collide by Lt-Tomoe87

Anime : Gravitation by Maki Murakami

Chapter 1 : Of All the Colors

Disclaimer : Isn't it obvious that I don't own any of this stuff?

* * *

_Though we are on **distant** paths, I see behind your **mask **and **relate** to those **memories** that haunt you. The **threat** of a **cycle** of **pain** makes you **numb **as you wish you could **undo** the **past**. Lay those times to **rest** among the **cloudy** sky and break from the void the** morphine** brings you to. **Why** not **believe** the **truth** in front of **you**? There is a reason it is called **bittersweet**._

* * *

The air was cut fresh from the late autumn evening and the leaves were taking their turn in the change of the season. Strangely the noise had died down in the city making a walk more meaningful and bringing a relief of the crowded mass of buildings.

Shuichi Shindou, the famous novelist of usually teenage romance stories, was now feeling the consequences of a serious writer's block. His editor K, had already threatened to blow his brains out with one of his many guns at least forty times in the last thirty six hours. And it was becoming rather annoying to the twenty three year old. Finally having enough of his plain and empty apartment, he decided to take a walk through the park to hopefully clear his thoughts. The wind ran through his dark pink hair which many thought was amazingly immature for the man considering his age. He didn't care. It made him stand out as if his immensely popular writings weren't enough recognition. On top of that, it made him feel unique. And he liked that.

As Shuichi was coming from the east end of the park, another young man of nineteen, Eiri Uesugi, a blonde hair and golden eyed kid with a bad attitude was coming from the west end cursing at how his lyrics never seemed to be enough lately. He had always wanted to be a J-POP star and aspired to be like famous singer Ryuichi Sakuma of Bad Luck. But it seemed as if his lyrics were always too dark. At least, that's what Fujisaki Suguru of BD Studios who was also part of Bad Luck. Bad Luck had retired two years ago which allowed the keyboardist time to run BD studios. And also the time to tell Eiri his lyrics were not good enough. "too dark" or "too deep". It looked like he and his brother-in-law, Tohma Seguchi weren't going to be able to start their band, Nittle Grasper which was greatly disappointing to him considering the work he, Tohma, and their manager Noriko had put in to the band.

Eiri sighed as he scanned over the lyrics lazily scrawled onto the piece of paper for the millionth time. "I don't see what's wrong with these!" He thought aloud with a cigarette dangling from the side of his mouth. Frustrated, he crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it towards what he thought was a trash can. It was dark, and only one light in the park was working around him. He knew it wasn't a trash can when it yelled, "HEY!"

"Oh shit…" Was all that came from the teenager's mouth. Before he was even able to run, the owner of the voice was standing in front of him holding the crumpled piece of paper. Only, he was reading it. He was glaring down at the lyrics and then at the boy. "Hey! Who said you can read that?!" Eiri tried to reach for it but found it useless since the man was much taller than him.

"Oh? You're the one that wrote these?" The man was thoroughly surprised. Eiri stepped back and got a better look at the man.

Not that Eiri knew it, but it was none other than Shuichi Shindou. _Why the hell is his hair PINK?! Of all the colors…pink! _He thought dumbfounded at the bizarreness he saw in front of him.

"I'll ask you again, did you write these lyrics?" Shuichi asked once more.

"Ah…yeah…I did…" Eiri came out of his thoughts and faced the man.

"Hmm…" Shuichi looked over them again and an unimpressed frown came upon his face as he re-crumpled the paper and threw it over his shoulder probably missing the can that Eiri had failed to score in the first time. He looked down at Eiri and his frown widened. "How old are you?"

"Why should I tell you?!" He now felt insulted.

"Stubborn aren't you." Shuichi put one hand to his chin to frame it as he studied the boy. "I'm guessing at least nineteen." His smug smile faded as he was totally unsure considering the boy was glaring at him the whole time but decided to hide his uncertainty. He then snatched the cigarette from the boy's mouth and stamped it out on the pavement.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Eiri yelled at him.

"You shouldn't be smoking when you're so young! You'll die of cancer!" Shuichi yelled back at him. There was silence between the two and Shuichi started to walk away. He stopped once to make sure that Eiri was listening, "Oh, and kid, you're also too young to be writing lyrics like that." He continued to walk, hands in his pockets, totally dismissing what had just happened.

Eiri, though, stood there, dumbfounded at how lowly he was just insulted. Well, it seemed so to him. He should be able to write whatever he wanted and make it work! "That…that bastard!!" He yelled to no one. He hoped that Shuichi would hear, but he was long gone.

* * *

Humiliated, Eiri decided to go Tohma's house. Mika never minded seeing her little brother considering that he had a cold attitude towards almost anyone. "Well, what were the lyrics?" Tohma asked bringing a tray with two cups of tea on it into the living room.

Eiri looked away like a stuck up twerp and Tohma realized which ones they were. "Don't tell me…" The platinum blonde held back a laugh.

"YES. IT WAS SUICIDAL RAGE. NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" Eiri yelled, pounding his fist on the table in the process.

Tohma was now on the floor laughing. The platinum blonde knew that song was an ultimate fail in the title department from the start, but Eiri thought it was the best he had done in a long time. He had gotten used to Eiri's outbursts and took any chance to tease the boy. "Now, who did you say this guy was?" He finally stopped laughing.

"I didn't catch his name. All I know is that he had this retarded pink hair and purple eyes." Eiri grumbled.

"Hmmm…" Tohma thought deeply and took a sip of his tea. "There are only a handful of people like that around Tokyo I would assume."

"Well, I want that guy specifically to rot in hell." Eiri downed the steaming hot tea in one frustrated gulp. He regretted it, but wouldn't let Tohma see at the risk of being teased again.

"Isn't it a bit early to just want him to rot in hell, Eiri?" Tohma asked a bit amused by the extremeness of his wish.

"No!" Eiri shot at him. "He spoke as if he knew me so well and that he didn't need permission to grab that cigarette away from me."

Tohma was serious now, "You're still smoking?!"

"AH! UH…NO." Eiri knew he was in trouble now. _Oh, Fuck… _No quick excuse came to mind. "Maybe..."

Tohma sighed, "I won't tell Mika. But please. Make an effort, Eiri."

Half relieved, Eiri relaxed. "Why should I?"

"It's not good for your health."

"Pfft. You sound like him." Eiri stood up and headed towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow for practice." And left the apartment.

Tohma sighed, "Sometimes I wonder why that kid feels so out of place anymore."

"It's probably just because he's a teenager." Mika's voice came to greet Tohma as she scratched the back of her head, frustrated with Eiri's behavior as usual. "And what that idiotic mentor in New York did. Selfish piece of crap that guy was."

Tohma sighed at the last part of her speech. _That was already two years ago. I guess anything in over-emotional with Eiri is possible. At least he wasn't too close to the guy or it would have been worse._ "I don't think you give him enough credit." Tohma smiled trying to change the subject.

Mika sighed with a smile also, "You're probably right." She stared out the window and watched until her brother ran out of sight down the road. She was never able to figure out why Eiri was such a pain in the butt a lot of the time. Though that incident in New York had been awhile ago now, it definitely changed Eiri a great deal.

* * *

"Oh, come on, Shuichi!" K tried to convince him that this rough draft of his novel was actually good.

Shuichi stared out at the scenery of the café where they had decided to meet. The sun was slowly setting on the city, "Yeah…whatever you say…"

K was a bit disturbed with his behavior to say the least. Usually he was jumping up and down like a giddy school girl on her first date when K told him he had written something worthy. "Did that doctor of yours up your depression medication?"

"Nah." Shuichi plastered a tired smile on his face with the lie. "It just took me awhile to write that."

His editor shrugged, "Then you can use your time to rest up." He stood up, telling Shuichi that their exchange had ended and he was free to go home.

* * *

Shuichi always preferred to walk rather than to drive a car. Even though he had a nice Cadillac, he liked the fresh air and the environment of the noisy city he called home. As he took in a deep breath, he heard some yelling from an alley. Someone was screaming, "Help" and "Stop". It seemed as if all the other pedestrians were deaf to the obvious cries of pain though. Alarmed, Shuichi ran into the dark alley to help who ever was crying out.

What greeted him at the end of the alley angered him. Three men were beating on a younger boy and telling him to shut the hell up.

"Eh? Who're you?" One of them looked over to Shuichi.

Shuichi grinned evilly as he had a plan devised within a millisecond. He was never good at fighting, but could weasel his way out of a scrape fairly easily. "Your worst nightmare." The boy who was being beaten could have sworn there was a flash of red in the writer's eyes.

One of the other guys snorted. "Pfft. Whatever. You're next." He moved away from the boy and launched a punch at Shuichi who quickly blocked him and tripped him over.

"You got to work on that stance of yours." Shuichi said observing the man who had just failed.

"You bastard!" Shuichi dodged all of the punches and managed to grab the boy by the wrist, and tossed him onto his back.

Running, as fast as he could, he managed to escape the alley, stuttering on one foot as he came to the corner of a sidewalk with the boy still on his back. "Ne, are you alright back there?" Shuichi asked.

The boy mumbled something about being in pain which Shuichi was barely able to decipher.

"Ah, don't worry. I'll take you to my apartment, and I'll get you cleaned up there." Shuichi huffed as he jumped slightly putting the dead weight of the boy back into a comfortable position for him to walk.

* * *

"I don't believe we've met. Care to tell me your name?" Shuichi came from the kitchen of his apartment to the boy sitting on the couch. He looked familiar with his blonde hair and those fiery golden eyes, but he passed it as a coincidence.

Eiri moved his pouting glare from Shuichi to the floor. "Eiri Uesugi." He mumbled. _How can he forget me after that night in the park?! The bastard!!_

Shuichi leaned against the wall waiting for Eiri to start a conversation, when he didn't he knew it was his turn to break the uncomfortable silence. "So, why were you in that alley?" He asked chewing on a stick of strawberry pocky.

Eiri was now officially pissed off. What gave the guy the right to question him like this? He stood up, "Shut up! You don't have any right to ask me questions!"

Shuichi shrugged unaffected by Eiri's yelling. "Am I not the one who helped you after you were beaten? Shouldn't I at least know why you were there?"

"I didn't asked to be helped!" The boy was still yelling.

Now Shuichi remembered. Still in a smooth tone he knew what to say next. "I should have known those lyrics came from one who was so ungrateful." He insulted clearly just to brush Eiri the wrong way.

Eiri was taken back. "What nerve you have!"

Shuichi coughed to hide a laugh, "'Would you finally care if I were to no longer roam the plains of agony or will you still bathe in your greed and selfishness?'" He recited the lyrics from his vague photographic memory of the paper from that night.

Eiri opened his mouth to say something, but closed it now knowing he was defeated. With his rage boiling, he stormed out of Shuichi's apartment. He would have shot something insulting back at him, but was once again, humiliated by the man.

Shuichi sighed and closed the door to his apartment. As he came to the sofa where Eiri had just been sitting, he noticed a flash of white on the couch. There was a folded piece of paper. _More lyrics? Is that all the kid does?_ He unfolded it to find that it was a letter from BD studios to Eiri. He smirked. "I guess I'm going to have to talk to Fujisaki-san."

* * *

A/N: Well, there's the start to my new story! I'm really glad you guys enjoyed my last one. I hope this one is as much to your liking. There's probably another one like this out there(hard to avoid when there are over 4,000 other fics), but I'm sure this will meet your standards X3

The inspiration for this story was actually a bit strange. For some reason while I was listening to the song "Collide" by Howie Day, I thought of my old boyfriend and a conversation(-coughcomparisonofourlivesargumentcough-) we had. It was about being in each other's lives and how much harder the other's was. Weird, right? XD And then this fic came to mind. Yes, I am well aware there is a livejournal graphic journal with the name, "Reverses Collide". I didn't realize it until I had decided on what title I wanted.

I do have a **warning** though for you people who appreciate my frequent updates; I have not fully thought through an outline for this story so it **may take me some time** on top of school to write my chapters.

Thanks for being patient :D


	2. Losing vs Misplacing?

Story: Reverses Collide by Lt-Tomoe87

Anime: Gravitation by Maki Murakami

Chapter 2: Losing vs. Misplacing?

Disclaimer: Kay, guess not.

* * *

Eiri had decided to keep his last encounter with Shuichi a secret from Tohma knowing that he would tease him even more this time since he didn't catch his name. Again. Something about Shuichi made Eiri want to punch the living hell out of the guy and yet…something else made him want to talk with him. Learn at the very least. He seemed like such a good person after helping him. But since Eiri was Eiri, he only saw insults and rejected any of his kindness.

Both of them were on there way to BD studios to hear from Suguru about them being employed as a band there. It was all going ok until half way there; Eiri realized he didn't have the important contract with him.

"WHAAAATT??" Their manager, Noriko, had just about had it with these two. She was always making up the mistakes for these morons.

Eiri stared at the ground. "I didn't lose it…I…misplaced it…"

Tohma sighed, frustrated. "That's the same thing, Eiri."

"Who asked you?!" The boy shot back.

"Alright, you two can it." Noriko bopped both of them on the head. "You'll just have to tell Suguru-san you lost it."

"Somehow," Tohma sighed again, rubbing the now sore spot on his head, "I don't think that he'll take it that easily, Noriko-san."

"Well we'll just have to take our chances now won't we!!" Noriko put on an obviously energy ridden optimistic smile and dragged the two into the building of BD Studios. "If you two don't pick up your feet, we'll be late!"

"Maybe we could walk if you weren't dragging us!" Eiri yelled back earning stares from the employees of the building.

It seemed forever until they reached Suguru's office. And when the three of them did, they were all out of breath. "You morons wait here." She caught her breath and entered the office. It probably would have helped them a great deal if the elevator hadn't been out of order and if Suguru's office wasn't on the top floor.

While waiting for the cue to join their manager in the office, Tohma and Eiri leaned against a wall, still catching their own breath. Tohma had his arms crossed and Eiri was on the floor, his back against the wall. You'd think being Suguru's distant cousin, that he would cut Tohma a break about being employed to BD Studios but no. He said that he needed to work for his position which he knew was true, but he was also hoping he'd get some advantages being related to the man.

Finally willing to ask the question, Tohma made sure Eiri was listening. "Eiri…where _did_ that contract go? It's not like you to lose things like that."

As usual, Eiri glared into nothingness trying to come up with an explanation in his head, but failed miserably. "I got into a fight with a few thugs in an alley. I must've lost it there."

Tohma uncrossed his arms and looked down at the boy. "You told me those bruises were from falling down the stairs in your apartment!"

"I lied, moron." Eiri rolled his eyes.

Even Tohma was a bit bothered when Eiri talked to him like that. "How did you get into a fight?"

"Some guy was trying to grab my wallet. When I resisted he and his friends decided to beat the crap out of me for attempting to stop them."

"Did you get it back?"

"Yeah…but that contract was in the same pocket as my wallet…how did the contract fall out and not my wallet?" He pondered for a minute until he realized exactly where it was. "That jerk!"

"Eh?" Tohma asked surprised, but didn't get to ask who Eiri was referring to when Noriko opened the door to Suguru's office and ushered them in.

Suguru let the three of them stand and he had his elbows at his desk, resting his chin as he thought over what to say to them. "Noriko-san has informed me that you have lost your contract."

Eiri only nodded, ashamed.

"Well, you won't need it."

All three of them were taken by surprise by his words, "What…?" Tohma asked.

"You're music isn't good enough with just the two of you."

Eiri would have yelled at the man, but instead swallowed his pride literally knowing that this meeting could determine whether he and Tohma were going to be employed as a band.

"How so?" Tohma asked calmly.

Suguru took in a deep breath, "Eiri-san's voice is very clear and although he needs to work on his lyrics, he is a good singer." He turned his attention to Tohma, "While you have excellent keyboard skills I'm going to have to suggest that I let my friend Nakano Hiroshi assist you two as the guitarist for Nittle Grasper."

Now, even Eiri had a hard time not letting his jaw drop at the suggestion. "A- Are you s- serious?!" He managed to make out.

"Yes, Eiri-san. I'm totally serious. I'll get that contract rewritten with Nakano in mind." Suguru smiled, "You three are dismissed until further notice." As they turned around in disbelief to leave, Suguru said something else, "Actually, Eiri, I'd like to speak with you privately."

Eiri nodded and let Tohma and Noriko leave. "Yes?" He faced Suguru.

Just as Suguru was about to say something, his speaker beeped telling him that his receptionist needed to pass him a message. "Suguru-san, Shuichi Shindou would like to come to your office, would that be alright?"

Suguru smiled as he had not seen his friend in a long time. "Send him up here."

"Yes sir." The receptionist replied and hung up. Suguru sat back in his chair, surprised but satisfied that Shuichi was coming to visit him.

"You were saying?" Eiri asked him.

"Ah, yes." Suguru remembered that Eiri was present and continued where he left off with his train of thought. "I know we've discussed this before, but I believe you need to make more of an effort with your lyrics. They are far too dark for what this company is looking for. I'm giving you a chance because Tohma is my cousin. But if you continue to present me with lyrics titled such as, 'Suicidal Rage' I'll have to decline any other requests for you to stay with BD Studios." He paused to let Eiri soak the information. "Am I understood…Eiri-san?"

Eiri cleared his throat. "Yes sir." Just then, the office door opened, and Suguru smiled widely as saw the figure come into the room. Eiri was frozen as he recognized the man immediately.

"Ah! Shindou-kun! It's been so long." Suguru got up from his desk to greet him.

"I wanted to return this to you," Shuichi handed Suguru the piece of paper that he had found on his couch wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. "It appeared to be from one of your upcoming employees, so I thought I would return it." He hadn't noticed that Eiri was in the room still.

Suguru laughed lightly as he opened the folded paper and looked it over.

"What is it?" Shuichi asked as if he had just missed a joke.

"Shindou-san…That upcoming employee," Suguru directed Shuichi's attention to Eiri. "Is right here."

Shuichi stared down at Eiri. His face didn't register surprise. His face painted a fake smile remembering the boy's rudeness. "Ah. Nice to see you again, Eiri-san."

Eiri froze. He didn't know whether to respond or not. If he did, an insult would probably fall out rather than a greeting.

"Oh? You two have met?" Suguru asked surprised.

"Not formally." Shuichi answered and looked back at Suguru. "I should get going. My editor is already bugging me about a new story. I'll call you later."

Suguru nodded in agreement again, not paying attention to Eiri's presence. "Yes, it'd be nice for us to stay in touch more."

Shuichi flashed an appropriate smile, and left the office.

"You're excused, Eiri-san." Suguru gave him the strong hint that he had other things to do.

Eiri only blankly nodded and left Suguru's office. He then chased after Shuichi. Now he understood. He had heard about the man's popularity. _So that's who he is! Shindou Shuichi…and he's a writer! That's why he was able to criticize me so openly._ He looked around to see where the man might have gone. The stairs was the only other option as he didn't see the man in any of the other halls and that elevator on this side of the building was out of order.

Nearly tripping over himself, Eiri made it to the stairwell surprised to find that it was not flooded with employees but instead the faint sound of footsteps heading downward. Jumping down the stairs two at a time, Eiri was almost caught up with Shuichi. "WAIT!" He finally yelled out of breath. Surprisingly, the footsteps ceased.

"What?" Shuichi replied rather irritated. He didn't feel like putting up a happy act at the moment. He felt his body going through early withdrawal of his depression medication that he had tried to wean himself off of with out his doctor's consent. He knew that she'd probably bite his head off for it, but he was just so sick of being on damn pills already. Right now all he wanted was to stop being such a moron and just take his dose of medication to cure the quickly progressing nausea.

Eiri was at loss of words as he came down the last set of stairs to meet Shuichi.

"How do you know Suguru-san?!" He finally asked.

Shuichi smirked, still annoyed that the kid had stopped him just for that. "Is that _all_ you wanted to know?" Figuring that the silence meant 'yes' Shuichi started, "I used to sing with Fujisaki-san when I was younger with Hiro." He said noting that Eiri was shocked that he also knew Hiroshi. Not only did he know them, he used to _sing_ with them.

"Wh- why did you quit and let Ryuichi Sakuma take your place?" He asked trying not to stutter.

"What gives you the right to think you should know my past?" Shuichi walked towards him. He was now pissed off. _Who does this kid think he is?_

Eiri felt cornered as once again he couldn't find a come back against the writer. He only glared at his large amethyst eyes. "Why do you have to have such authority in your voice?" A drum roll of obvious questions started to drain from his lips. "What makes you think you can say what my lyrics are and aren't?"

Shuichi was now getting annoyed also as Eiri's questions continued fire. The writer cut into his words like a knife, "You don't shut up do you?"

Eiri silenced himself at the harshness of Shuichi's voice.

"Not considering what trouble it is for another to deal with your teenage angst." He smirked as got into Eiri's face and grabbed his chin. "You really are a stubborn brat." The only way to shut the kid up came to his actions before he was able to rationalize them. He stared into Eiri's eyes as their lips met. Eiri's eyes read defeat and surprise as he couldn't believe this man was _kissing_ him of all things. Shuichi pulled away, "Satisfied?"

Eiri could only stare at the air as Shuichi walked the rest of the way down the stairwell and collapsed as he heard the door slam letting him know that Shuichi was no longer there. He brought his fingers to his lips, still shocked at what had just happened to him. _Was…that…real?_ He sat there, "DID A GUY JUST KISS ME?!" He screamed probably telling the news to the rest of the employees in the building.

* * *

A/N: Well, I'm glad I have this on a roll now. This really fun to write :D

**dbskxsuju**: Aha, glad you think so. XD It was hard to pick and choose what I'd keep the same.

**Serenity Usagi Tenou**: I was debating that but I'll have to think about it X3

**TEWG**: Ah, I'm glad someone caught that XD Yes, that's what I meant for Daisuke's song to be in the end, but I had forgotten about the idea. **& 801**: Well this is your first then XD

**sana-chan9**: Thank you!


	3. Up for Comparison

Story: Reverses Collide by Lt-Tomoe87

Anime: Gravitation by Maki Murakami

Chapter 3: Up for Comparison

Disclaimer: -cough-

* * *

Embarrassed? Hurt? Angry? What _was_ Eiri feeling about what happened with him and Shuichi. Even he didn't know. He pondered it for a few days. It bothered Tohma how quiet the teen was, but didn't dare to ask him what was wrong fearing that he would lash out.

It was about a week since Eiri and Shuichi's last encounter and it was time for Nittle Grasper to meet their future guitarist. They had decided to meet at one of Tokyo's popular restaurants. Even Eiri had decided to dress up a little bit. It wasn't much. His nice and only suit with a loose work shirt. But Noriko appreciated that he made the effort.

Even Tohma was a bit nervous. Course Noriko slapped the heck out of him so that he'd straighten up before the dinner. During most of the dinner, it was Noriko and Tohma talking with Hiroshi. Eiri was still dazed. It took a poke from Tohma to wake him up to reality when Hiroshi asked him a question. "Eh?" Eiri asked indicating that he had not been listening.

Hiroshi sat back in his chair and repeated himself, "How long have you been singing?"

"Ah…um…about three years…" Eiri answered.

"And you're nineteen?"

"Yes."

Hiroshi paused for a moment as he thought about what he'd say next. "I did listen to one of your sample tracks."

Eiri perked up. "What did you think of it?"

"You said you wanted to be a J-POP star like Ryuichi Sakuma?"

_How does he know that?! Oh…I guess Suguru-san told him…_ "Yes."

He sighed, "Let's just say you sound a lot more like Uruha from the GazettE rather than Takuya from UVERworld."

Eiri flinched. He knew what that meant. the GazettE was a popular J-ROCK band. And comparing him to such a poppy band like UVERworld meant that he was very far off from being like what Bad Luck was.

He took a deep breath, "So does that mean you won't want to play with us?"

"Hardly." Hiroshi responded. "Your voice has much potential."

Eiri's brows rose at the answer.

"However, I want you to take a couple singing sessions with one of my friends before we start recording officially. Is that alright with you?"

"Y- Yes!" Eiri kept himself from blushing of excitement.

"Who's this teacher now?" Tohma asked curious. He had always been a little over protective of Eiri. He couldn't help it; it was like he was a younger brother to him.

"Ah, someone I've worked with the guy in the past. He'll do Eiri some good."

Eiri's head was spinning. _Sakuma Ryuichi? Could he possibly be my singing teacher?!_ For the first time since he had been attacked back in that alley, Eiri was smiling.

When he, Noriko, and Tohma left the restaurant, Tohma noticed Eiri's change in attitude and was surprised. "You excited, Eiri?" He asked as they split ways to their homes.

The boy shrugged and surprised Tohma more by not snapping at him for catching him in a good mood. "Why wouldn't I be?" He waved as he headed down the street toward his apartment. "See you tomorrow, Tohma."

Tohma smiled as he saw Eiri walk away, satisfied with what the night had brought them.

* * *

Shuichi sighed angrily and held the backspace key for the longest time yet. He was so behind on getting this damn chapter done. He knew that K would be pissed and threatening him with his gun. Again.

He looked over at the empty box of strawberry pocky and crushed it frustrated. A headache started to come over his skull and he realized he had no more ibuprofen to relieve him of the pain. Sighing, he looked over at the computer's clock. 22:09. He had gone much later with his work but he knew this would have to be a night of exception. He knew that his writing would be garbage if he wasn't able to concentrate on the outline in his head.

Just as he stood and closed the laptop, the phone in his pant pocket vibrated. Who the hell is calling this late? He sighed again frustrated. "Hello?" He asked hiding his annoyance as best possible. He didn't like making people feel uncomfortable no matter how crappy he felt.

"Shu!" The voice on the other end of the line exclaimed.

"Hiro…?"

"Well, who did you think it was?"

"Err…" Shuichi tried to come up with an answer before he realized Hiroshi was just taking advantage of his current surprise. "Hey! How did you find my number?"

"Suguru." He answered with an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' voice. Hiroshi knew that Shuichi wasn't too fond of the keyboardist's way of knowing everything and took any time to point out that Shuichi should just accept it.

"That explains it…" Shuichi trailed off annoyed.

"How have you been?"

"Better than usual." Shuichi lied with a thick coat of deception in his voice.

Hiroshi did his best to brush it off. He knew Shuichi well and decided not to press him for the reason of his lie. "That's good to hear. Hey, can I ask you a favor?"

_You're calling me after two years and you want a favor..?_ Shuichi found this a bit out of character of his old friend. "Yeah. What is it?" As much as he found it a little rude, Shuichi couldn't help but be a little curious.

"I have a friend who's having some singing troubles. You think you could come over to BD Studios on Tuesday afternoon to help me out with him?" He asked almost cautiously. He knew that Shuichi hadn't sung in a long time and that it was going to be hard for him just to start over again.

Shuichi's mind paused at the request, not sure if he should accept it or yell at Hiroshi for even suggesting it.

Hiroshi knew that when he didn't hear Shuichi on the other end that he had made a mistake. "Hey, Shu, just think about it ok? The kid's got a good voice. I think you could really help him."

"Why don't you ask Sakuma?" Shuichi resisted sounding as grumpy as he really felt over the matter.

"He's in America, and I can't get a hold of him."

"So I'm the second option?"

"No! Well…" Shuichi heard Hiroshi sigh at the other end caught in one of Shuichi's rare moments of victory.

After a long moment of silence, Shuichi spoke up. "Alright, Hiro. I'll do one session with him." It wouldn't hurt him. And it would be an excuse to get out of this damn apartment.

Shuichi could almost hear Hiroshi smile. "Thanks, Shu."

"Yeah. I'll see you then." Shuichi hung up the phone and ran his fingers through his pink hair thoughtfully. "The kid must be good if Hiro thinks he can do well." He murmured to himself as he got ready for bed.

* * *

A/N: Ehh, this one's a bit short. I didn't really revise it so I might edit later if I'm really bored :X And yesh! I LOVE UVERworld and the GazettE. Totally. Awesome. Bands they be. So yeah. X3

**fahaar**: Ah, thank you!

**dbskxsuju**: In due time -heheheheheh-


	4. The Right Words

Story: Reverses Collide by Lt-Tomoe87

Anime: Gravitation by Maki Murakami

Chapter 4:

Disclaimer: muwahaha. Meh -.-

* * *

Tuesday couldn't have come sooner for Eiri. He really wanted to meet this person and was really curious as to why his new band mate; Hiroshi wouldn't tell him who it was. That morning in the recording studio, he noticed Tohma was rushing to leave early. "Where's the fire?" He asked curiously.

"Ah, didn't Mika tell you?" Tohma stopped to give Eiri his attention.

"If she had, don't you think I wouldn't be asking, Sir-Whopointsoutheobvious-alot?" Eiri snorted.

Tohma paid no attention to the boy's remark. "Your sister and I are going on a trip to a meeting for her job in Osaka."

Eiri's mouth dropped, "Y- Y- YOU'RE MOVING TO OSAKA?!"

"No…the company Mika works for is based there…they're just having their annual meeting about their stock reports and other marketing stuff." Eiri did this every year that Mika had that meeting. It was for some bank corporation…and she was a manager or something…ah, it didn't matter to him.

"Oh…ok…" His face went back to normal. "When do you think you'll be back?"

"Oh, about a week. I'll be back just in time for our first concert!" Tohma gave him an encouraging smile. He was just about to leave the recording room for the airport.

"Have fun!" Eiri went to look over some charts.

Tohma stopped. "Eiri…are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah…why?" He was now feeling annoyed.

"You seem…different."

"You want me to act strange or something?" Eiri's brows narrowed at his brother in-law.

"I just want to know why you're so…happy. I mean, I like it, but I'm just curious."

Eiri sighed, "How many times did I tell you. Hiroshi-san got me a session with a singer that he knows so that I can improve before our concert." Surprised at his Tohma's forgetfulness lately

Tohma beamed. "That's great Eiri!" He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Ah! That must be Mika. She's probably at the airport already…"

"Tell her I said hi." Eiri went back to the papers he was looking at before Tohma had questioned his mood.

Eiri didn't receive a response as Tohma was half way out the recording room door when the boy bid him goodbye. He stared up at the clock of the recording room. Where was Hiroshi? And this guy that was supposed to be teaching him. Did he get the wrong date? Sighing, he went over to Tohma's synth and started to match notes to new lyrics he had written. Soon enough, his voice accompanied the music and he fell into his work.

* * *

Tuesday could not have come later for Shuichi. He was tired and still irritated with Hiroshi's random request. He walked into BD Studios and took in a deep breath. "It's been awhile." He had not registered his last visit to BD as an official session since he had just come in to drop off a paper. The slightest essence of a smile formed in his lips as the good memories of his younger past came to his mind…and then the bad that had launched him into his writing career.

After his moment of nostalgia, Shuichi found he had no need to go the receptionist's desk considering he knew he only had to find the specific recording room and Hiroshi. Whichever came first. He thought about it. He'd most likely miss finding his friend walking around the building he had not entered in almost seven years. Knowing Suguru, he probably had several construction projects over those years altering what little Shuichi remembered of the building.

Already frustrated, Shuichi tried to remember which recording room Hiroshi had mentioned. "One or two…" He scratched the back of his head. "Whichever one we had used for Bad Luck…" Walking around for a little while, he finally came across the correct door.

Keeping his hand on the door knob, he drew a deep breath as his chest tightened. "This kid better be worth it." He pushed open the door.

* * *

"_And as you walk away, I scream your name!_

_Don't leave behind this world you made_

_Destiny isn't everything! Fate you can leave behind!_

_May we walk the road of rebirth with your hand in mine…_" Eiri's voice filled the room with the sound of the instrument as he played. His eyes remained closed even as someone entered the room. He didn't hear them; he was too enthralled now.

As the song ended, his left hand came over his right on the keyboard to complete an A major arpeggio to complete his unwritten song. Releasing his breath that he held from pouring his soul into his notes, his eyes moved from the keyboard to the floor, which he saw a pair of shoes. "Ah, Hiroshi-san…" He started before he fully looked over the man.

There was silence between the two. Eiri just stared in disbelief. "Wh…what are you doing here?"

Shuichi was starting back just surprised. "Oh, you have to be shitting me…" Part of him twitched as he realized what was going on. He felt his stomach shove up into his throat as did Eiri's.

Finally, for what seemed forever of discomfort in the air, Hiroshi arrived. "Hey! Shu!" He just about attacked the man with a bear hug.

"Hiro…" Shuichi was now amazingly pissed off with his friend.

"Hey? What's with the grumpy tone?" Hiroshi scolded playfully slapping him on the back.

"Ah!" Shuichi was forced forward with the slap. He regained his posture and rubbed the now sore spot on his shoulder. "You still have your strong arm I see…" Trying to hint he was annoyed.

Hiroshi knew his friend wasn't in the best of moods, but he ignored it. He turned over to Eiri who seemed paler than usual, but like Shuichi's mood, he brushed it off. "Shu, this is Eiri-san. He's Nittle Grasper's singer."

Shuichi's eyes narrowed at the boy who stared back at him nervously but then broke his face of judgment into a smile and patted Eiri on the head. "Ah, yes! We have met before!" He squeezed Eiri like a rag doll showing his "acquaintance" with the boy.

Eiri's eyes just about bulged out of his skull but forced it back knowing that the guitarist was still around. "What are you doing?!" He whispered to Shuichi.

"Shut up, and we can get this over with quickly." He whispered back.

Hiroshi smiled widely, satisfied with Shuichi's immediate acceptance. He now only had to hope that Shuichi wouldn't be that harsh of a critic with Eiri's singing. "Great! Let's get started!"

Even behind Shuichi's current play of trying being friendly to Eiri, he knew the truth. He hated him. Right? Then why had he kissed him? _GAH. THIS GUY IS FUCKING CONFUSING ME._ Eiri felt like his head was going to explode. _Ah, Eiri…let's just get through this session and then maybe I can talk to him…_ He told himself.

Through out the session, Eiri decided not to look at Shuichi knowing he'd probably melt under the intensity of his purple gaze. And by then he knew that Hiroshi would have suspected something.

When it finally ended, Eiri wiped away the sweat from his forehead and looked to Hiroshi for any satisfaction. And it seemed as if he had been giving it by the buckets through his voice. Shuichi did his best to look like he was enjoying teaching Eiri as he taught the boy how to raise his voice higher without hurting his throat. It hadn't really been a correct way of tutoring, but Hiroshi knew it'd be the best he was going to get out of his friend at the time.

"That's a wrap!" Hiroshi said happily.

"Hirrooo…you sound like Sakano…" He groaned childishly to avoid questioning from Hiroshi referring to their first manager of Bad Luck. That was when Shuichi had still been around.

Hiroshi shrugged, "It's good to remember right?"

"Ehh... I guess."

"Anyway, thanks for stopping by- oh shit. I gotta go. Ayaka and I are having dinner later." He did his best to dismiss himself quickly.

"Yeah, no problem, see ya." Shuichi wanted to get out of there as soon as possible anyway. When Hiroshi finally left the recording room, he found that Eiri was still looking at him. Not staring really in disgust and surprise but of admiration. He was a little creeped out by this. "Why…are you staring at me…?" He asked.

Eiri quickly looked away with red tinting his cheeks. "I just thought it was really cool to be working with you. I feel…honored I guess. You're a really good singer."

Shuichi snorted, "I would have never expected that from you." He started walking out of the room with Eiri close behind realizing that Eiri was expecting more of a response. "You shouldn't feel honored. I gave up singing a long time ago." He looked back at the boy. "Have you ever given up a dream just to peruse something else to against everyone else's expectations?"

Eiri was a bit taken back by the question. Shuichi seemed to be such a flip-flop kind of person. A poser? No...that wasn't the right word. "Uh…writing I guess…I gave up writing to be a singer." He said strongly.

He had a hard time containing a laugh. "Whadd'ya know." Shuichi shrugged and stopped at the exiting doors of the BD Studios. "I'll see you whenever, kid. Hopefully Hiro got a clue and won't put us through that again." He walked away into the busy streets.

Even though Eiri was glad it was over, he didn't want this to be their last encounter. He…wanted to learn more from Shuichi. And why he had asked him such a strange question.

* * *

A/N: Oh, jeeze. Sorry for keeping you all waiting. School's got the best of me these days.


	5. Twohundred thousand!

Story: Reverses Collide by Lt-Tomoe87

Anime: Gravitation by Maki Murakami

Chapter 5: Two-hundred thousand?!

Disclaimer: hardy harhar

* * *

Eiri's mind was left restless for the rest of the afternoon since Shuichi had left BD Studios. Since Tohma had left for Osaka, Hiroshi was…somewhere and he couldn't even begin to guess where Noriko was.

It was about five o' clock when Eiri decided to stop wandering aimlessly around the building and get some fresh air. He looked up at the sky above him. It was cloudy and probably going to snow soon to spite that it wasn't that far into the season. He shivered as the cold autumn wind cut right through his clothing and down to the bone. Though he was wearing jeans and a snug long-sleeve t-shirt, he felt as though a truck load of snow had been dropped on him.

Deciding that it'd be best to get home before the weather started to beat him, Eiri headed north towards his apartment. His hand was shaking as he stuck the key into the lock only to find that it wouldn't turn. "What the hell?!" His quick temper took hold of the situation as now found himself trying to break down the door. It was impossible for his small figure even if he was the slightest bit muscular, it wasn't enough.

After a minute or two he felt his chest tighten. "No…it couldn't be…" He started pounding on the door with his fist. Hard. …and menacingly. "MAKOTO! YOU BASTARD!" He yelled the name of the landlord with every pound of frustration. It was when he had finally pounded so hard that his hand slipped and was cut on the key still in the lock mechanism. "SHIT!" He held the bleeding wound tightly to stop the blood flow. He looked down at it, angered. "At least it's not serious…" He looked back up at the stubborn door. "BUT IT WILL BE IF SOMEONE DOESN'T UNLOCK MY APARTMENT!!" He yelled loudly. _What's the point? Makoto probably replaced the lock while I was at BD Studios and is probably long gone now._ He thought angrily when a piece of paper on the ground caught his eye.

He picked it up with his uninjured hand and read it to himself. It had probably fallen off the door when the adhesive of the notepad it was taken from became useless in the cold temperature.

_"Eiri! You haven't paid me in three months!! You have a week to get me that two-hundred thousand yen or I'm throwing your stuff out and renting the apartment to someone else. _

_-Makoto"_

Eiri felt sick. "T- t- tw- o…hu –hun…dred…" He stammered. "THOUSAND?!" His scream must have been heard by aliens. Well, at least he so hoped so that they would offer him a room to stay…and a counterfeit factory if they had one.

He sat there against the building for awhile. "How did I rack up such a debt?!" He asked himself in disbelief. It had only been a little borrowing here or there. But then there was interest...and the delayed payments. Eiri looked up at the window above him. "And how am I going to get that money on such a short notice! BD hasn't officially signed me yet…and that concert is…" He counted the days on his fingers, "Uhg…not close enough for me to use that money and pay it off."

Eiri hung his head. "What am I going to do?" Normally he would have gone to Tohma's place but because of his hard headedness, had refused to accept a key knowing that if he lost it and the domicile was robbed, he'd get blamed. Now he was really regretting it. "DAMNIT TOHMA! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO WITH MIKA THIS TIME?!" He was yelling again. Eiri felt something hard hit his head and a prompt,

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Afterward. Was he really being that loud?

He sighed, "I guess so." He rubbed the side of his left temple not in the mood to fight back whoever through the empty soda can at his head. He stood, not sure what to do. "I don't remember where Noriko-san is…or Hiroshi-san." He gulped as he realized the only option. "NO! I CAN'T DO THAT! THAT'S JUST…WRONG!"

Another can was thrown at his head, "I SAID SHUT UP, BITCH!" He noticed it was coming from the window of an apartment across from his.

"I'M A GUY YOU SHITHEAD!" Eiri yelled back.

"YOU THINK I CARE?! JUST GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD!" The voice was now getting hoarse.

Realizing that it would only get him sick to stay out in the cold and have an argument with a person he wasn't able to see at the moment, he decided he was just better off staying with Shuichi than being found dead the next day of hypothermia.

As he neared the apartment complex where the writer lived, Eiri thought about the second options he had. That was just it. He had none. Sighing, hoping he wouldn't regret what would happen next, he walked up to the second floor, remembering the room number of where he had stormed out of not too long ago.

With his muscles aching from walking so far, Eiri started to contemplate again. He couldn't feel his toes from the cold and his hands were bright red and were also becoming numb. The last thing he wanted was frostbite as he noted it was starting to snow lightly. "Here goes…something…" He pressed the buzzer.

He heard cursing from the other side and was greeted by whom he expected. Except…something didn't seem right…he looked…tired unlike before when he had been in the recording room with him. The man's face quickly changed to a surprised, faint smile as he saw it was Eiri. "Ah…Eiri…what are you doing here?" He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to deal with the kid now. The withdrawal was still killing him.

"Uhm…I…well…" Eiri sighed. "Actually, you know what, don't worry about it." He started to turn around. He felt sympathy for the guy and how crappy he probably felt, and Eiri had just been a jerk to him. "I'll go rent a room somewhere."

Shuichi's eyes widened and grabbed the boy's wrist. _Rent a room? What the hell did this kid get into?_ Shuichi's good side took over him. "No, it's okay. What did you need?" He was none the less surprised that the kid would have come to _him_ of all people for help.

Eiri stared back at Shuichi and turned around so that Shuichi would let go of his wrist…it felt…uncomfortable for Eiri. "My landlord kicked me out of my apartment."

"Why?" Shuichi asked curiously.

"Uh, well…I haven't paid him for a long time." Eiri scratched the back of his head nervously.

"…how long?" Shuichi leaned against the door way's structure.

_Well, of course he's going to ask me questions about what happened. I'm asking if I can stay with him!_ Eiri tried not to feel angry about answering the questions. "Three months…"

Shuichi swallowed calculating the most probable number coming next. "How much to you owe him?"

"Two."

"Two what?"

"Two hundred." Eiri said hanging his head.

"Yen? Oh that's not so bad! You must have a really impatient landlord for him to bug you just about that." Shuichi half heartedly laughed even if he did truly find it odd for someone to over react like that.

"Thousand." He finished.

"Eh…?" Shuichi squeaked as he stopped laughing.

"Two hundred thousand…" Eiri lifted his head nervously. "Yen…and I have a week to get it."

Shuichi gawked at him, baffled. "You sure manage to get yourself into trouble, kid."

"Tell me about it." Eiri said lowly.

"Well, uh…what about that brother in-law of yours?" Shuichi remembered Tohma from talking to Hiroshi.

"He's on a business trip with my sister."

"Ah. What lovely timing."

Eiri nodded still wanting to kill Tohma for that.

Shuichi sighed. "You can stay here then until he gets back or you pay up that rent…" He his voice trailed off rubbing the back of his head.

Eiri looked up at him surprised. "You mean that?"

He stared down at him oddly. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, we didn't really get off to the best start I guess."

Shuichi smiled honestly, "Not like we can't fix that, right?"

Eiri smiled back, feeling comfortable. "Yeah." It was then he felt his hand start get warm. "Huh?" He brought to his face and nearly fainted.

As did Shuichi. "How did you get that?!" His voice cracked as he saw the hand was drenched in blood.

"I- I- When I was trying to get into my apartment…the key!" Eiri was freaking out at Shuichi's reaction.

It took some time for them to settle down, but when it was all over they were both sitting on Shuichi's sectional in the living room. "My hand isn't going to fall off…is it?" Eiri asked worriedly.

Shuichi chuckled. "No." He patted the bandages carefully so that Eiri wouldn't flinch at the pain.

"How'd you know what to do?" Eiri asked curiously examining the white gauze.

"My little sister, Maiko took a nursing course when she was in high school and practiced her assignments on me." The older man explained.

"How old is your sister?"

"About your age. Her birthday is coming up soon."

"Ah," Eiri sat back on the cushion.

"Besides your sister, do you have any other siblings?"

Eiri twitched, "There's my perverted little brother who's obsessed with Ryuichi Sakuma. He's stuck being a monk because I told my father there was no way he was going to get me trapped at a temple all the time."

"Oh," Shuichi stifled a laugh, "How old is he?"

"He's going to be fifteen soon."

"I see." Shuichi's eyes darted to the clock across from the room. _24:06. Wow. It's that late already? I guess we've been talking for awhile._ "Well, Eiri, I have to get back to my writing. Do you mind sleeping on the couch?"

"Oh! I'm really sorry I disturbed you…yes, thank you." He caught a blanket that Shuichi threw over to him. "I'll try to get that money as soon as possible."

Shuichi merely shrugged.

"Thanks again…goodnight."

He finally made it into his study, with no reply. Eiri didn't mind though. He was just thankful he wasn't out in the snow. He made himself comfortable and he slowly drifted into his dream.

Behind the door of the study though, Shuichi felt like he was going to die. He slid against the solid wood, arms wrapped around his chest. Was it anxiety pain? He finally took the stupid medication, why was this happening? A heart attack? When it finally ended, he was gasping for breath and was limp.

He stared at the laptop on the desk above him a few feet away. Shuichi felt too exhausted to move though. It didn't matter if he fell asleep there; it was his apartment after all. Reluctantly, he fell asleep against the door.

* * *

A/N: Hey, guys. This is starting to sound too OOC for me even though I switched the characters. Plus my inspiration(and my sanity) has gone down the drain which is why I haven't been updating. I don't like to put all my personal stuff into my work or Author Notes, but you might as well know why my stuff isn't as great. My mom's been scheduled for major surgery at the end of June which has already put me on a long hiatus for my fanvideo making and will probably do the same for my writing if I can't find the time between taking care of her and myself.

So...that's that. Hopefully I'll get another update around sometime soon.


	6. White Curse

Story: Reverses Collide

Anime: Gravitation

Chapter 6: White Curse

* * *

Shuichi gasped as he woke from his nightmare. His face was wet from tears and his chest was drenched in sweat. After the one breath, that brought him away from the back of his mind, he stared blankly at the ceiling. "It's been...a long time since then..." He looked from the floor of his study to the laptop on the desk that was still in the place like it was when he fell asleep the night before. Slowly, the writer stood up and left the room deciding that he was hungry. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he heard clanging in his kitchen. "What the hell..."

"Ah!" Eiri's voice greeted Shuichi around the corner with a spatula in his hand.

It took some time for Shuichi to remember why the kid was here in HIS apartment. Then he remembered. "Oh, what have I gotten myself into?" He sighed, frustrated and placed his hand on his head.

"Whaaat?" Eiri asked annoyed. "You said I could stay here until I raise the rent."

"Yeah, yeah! I know!" Shuichi barked.

Eiri dropped the spatula at Shuichi's voice, making it clang against the tile floor. Shuichi snapped out of his grump phase. "Sorry..." It wasn't most mornings that he was woken by that horrible nightmare. He roughly pulled out a chair from the table in the room and sat down sighing heavily.

"It...It's ok..." Eiri picked up the cooking utensil and washed it off in the sink. "I made some eggs." He sat down a two plates with their forks and then sat down across from Shuichi. "You should keep your food more stocked. I was only able to find strawberry pocky and milk. So I had to go out and get the stuff for this."

Shuichi was none other than surprised with Eiri's generosity. "Uh...thanks." He put a mouthful in and chewed almost fearing what would be inside, but to his relief, it wasn't bad.

"Why do you only have those two things though?" The boy asked curiously starting to eat his share of the eggs.

The writer went from his grumpy state to his usual pleasant self. "You may have figured out strawberry pocky is my favorite food." Even though he was talking with his mouth full, Eiri...didn't seem to mind which surprised him. "And the milk? I was brought up to always have strong bones."

"Those are some...interesting excuses, Shindou-san." Eiri pushed his breakfast across his plate with his fork.

Shuichi's smile slightly dropped at the way Eiri addressed him. "Call me Shuichi."

"Uh..."

"Come on! If I let you sleep in my house, you at least should let yourself feel comfortable around me." His smiled returned.

"Ah...okay...Shuichi..."

"Much better!" He stood up and took both the plates and threw them into the sink making a loud noise.

Eiri winced at the clanging and got up from his chair. "Well, thanks, but I have to get working on that money."

"You'll come back later, won't you?" Shuichi asked.

"Yeah. I won't have nearly enough money by tomorrow." Eiri slipped on that coat that Shuichi had lent him the night before to keep him warm. As he was walking out the door, he turned to the man, "Don't sound so desperate."

"Hey! I get bored around here you know!" Shuichi scolded.

Eiri chuckled and rolled his eyes at how much more immature the man was from him considering their age difference. "See you later, Shindou-san."

"IT'S SHUICHI!" He yelled just as Eiri shut the door.

"Right! I'll work on that!" Eiri popped his head back in the door and then out.

It was a few minutes later before Shuichi's smile dropped and he was in his bathroom forcing his arms against the sink and holding his head low, refusing to look in to the mirror. "Why am I having these dreams again?!" He snatched the medicine bottle on the ledge of the porcelain and threw it at the mirror, making a big crack in the corner.

* * *

Eiri decided to start earning the money he needed by going to Suguru. Now, he wasn't going to just up front ask his boss for 200,000 yen, but he needed to know how long it would be before they got their contract officially signed. He needed the money now. His stomach fell when Suguru gave him the bad news. "I'm sorry, Eiri-san. But I can't."

"We've already started recording though!"

"Yes, but even if I do get everything done today, you won't get paid until a month from now and obviously that won't be soon enough."

Eiri sighed angrily.

"I suggest you get a loan at the bank, Eiri-san."

"Yeah, and sign away my first born." He mumbled in response.

Suguru muffled a laugh behind his folded hands, "Like I said, I'm sorry I can't help you. Maybe you should call Seguchi-san for a suggestion."

Without verbalizing his smart ass mental comeback, Eiri quickly bowed, "Yes, thank you anyway." And excused himself.

"Ah, wait...Eiri-san..."

"Yes?" Eiri turned around hoping he had a no other suggestion.

"It may not be my business, but where are you staying while you are collecting this money?"

The boy's mind stopped. Should he really tell him? He might get all weird if he knows that he's staying with his old friend... "I'm staying at motel." He continued to the door, "I'll see you later." He then ran out of BD Studios, relieved to be out of Suguru's presence. He didn't have anything against his boss, considering that he had only met him recently, but he felt...a strange thing around the man. Like he knew everything. Eiri knew that it was impossible, but still. You could know close to everything.

It didn't take long for Suguru to see through Eiri's lie, "You can afford to stay at a motel but not save up to pay for your rent...?" He thought out loud troubled at this. Suguru sat back in his chair, "Must be a cheap one."

* * *

To spite what Eiri feared, he decided to go to a bank and see what they would offer him. The interest rate was as close as signing away his first child but they wouldn't had given him the loan as it was for Eiri's credit history was out of whack.

He walked away from the building in defeat knowing that if one bank denied him, all the others would to. At this rate, he knew that his stuff would get thrown out or Makoto would sell it. And then there was another downside of not getting a loan. Living with Shuichi.

Eiri gulped at the thought. _The guy's nice, but there's something about him I don't understand._ Passing the stores, Eiri remembered it'd be a good idea to go grocery shopping noting that Shuichi didn't have a very good stock of food in the apartment.

"I wonder what that guy really eats." He mumbled to himself as he scanned over the different brands of dried food. "Pocky and milk really isn't healthy." He picked up a box of ramen. "Well neither is this, but my wallet is pretty hungry too." Keeping in mind that there was only so much he could spend.

On his way back to Shuichi's apartment, the flurries started to churn into a brutal storm. Since Eiri was so light, he was knocked down a few times from the strong gusts, making him have to pick up the groceries on the icy sidewalk. "Jeeze. I hope the power doesn't go out." He huffed and did his best to make it to the apartment complex without taking another spill.

* * *

Shuichi looked out of the window of his apartment. "Hmm. It looks like a bad storm." He then glanced at the clock on the stove. "The kid's been out awhile…" He slipped on his coat and exited the building hoping to meet up with Eiri on the way.

* * *

"Damnit!!" Eiri cursed when he fell on his ass for the umpteenth time. His head hurt really badly this time though. "Owww…" He gathered the groceries from his sitting position and tried to gather an idea of his whereabouts. The white sped past his eyes, making it difficult to analyze any similarities.

It was then when he started to feel dizzy. "Uhgg…that's not right…" He put his hand behind his head. It felt damp. It's probably the snow melting. Eiri wasn't able to see his hand though, for had he been able to, he would have figured out why he was so disoriented.

Though he was feeling too weak to stand up, he attempted the action anyway, abandoning the food knowing he wasn't fit to carry them and walk at the same time. But even if he had the idea that he could make himself mobile, his body denied it the fairytale thought, and he fell again.

"I feel sick now…" His face pressed against an unknown metal to which his back slumped against. _Maybe I should sleep now…_ The cold sensations faded and his eyes closed as it all went black.

* * *

_Maybe he took refuge somewhere else. Like a store…_ Shuichi thought optimistically knowing it was stupid. The wind whipping the snow past him made it difficult to acknowledge where he was going and he stepped on something hard. And then he heard a snap past the whistling of the storm. _That sounds like when you crack uncooked ramen… _

He looked down and saw packages of the noodles strewn across the pathway. _Someone must've dropped these._ Shuichi looked around for the owner when a figure caught his eye. It looked like an animal at first, clinging to the fence along the sidewalk, so as not to be blown away.

Shuichi walked closer towards it, checking to see if it was or was not frozen to death. The storm seemed to calm at the slightest once he realized what, or rather who the figure was. "Eiri!" He rushed to his side to check his vitals. Eiri still had a pulse, but it was very faint. "Come on." Like when they first met, Shuichi put the boy on his back, only more carefully, noting there was a wound at the back of his head.

The storm let up lightly as he made his way back to the apartment complex, which was only thirty meters away from where Eiri had fallen. He knew that even he couldn't help Eiri's wounds and placed the boy in the passenger side of his Jaguar and headed to the hospital.

* * *

A/N: I was really ready to give up this fic before I saw all the reviews from you guys. Thanks! For those that are curious about Shuichi's past, you'll find out soon.

I'll get another chapter up sooner or later.


	7. The open door

Story: Reverses Collide

Anime: Gravitation

Chapter 7: The open door

* * *

_I don't feel cold anymore…_ Eiri thought at the back of his mind._ I still can't open my eyes though. Shit! Did I die?! _Carefully, he lifted a lid and found himself on the living room couch at Shuichi's apartment. "I guess I crashed when I got back…" He tried to sit up, not noticing the blanket that was above him. As he rose, his head felt heavy. _That's not right._ He brought his already bandaged hand from the key incident to his forehead, which was also bandaged, as if it made the pain any better.

He gasped slightly as he realized what had happened and looked around for the man that had saved him. "Shuichi?" Eiri looked around. The noise of the storm outside was accompanied by another sound of rushing water. Figuring Shuichi was in the shower; he lied back down and decided to wait for him. _How am I going to thank him?_ _I made him walk out in the middle of a storm and then drive me to the hospital and probably wait forever. _Unusually, Eiri was feeling quite guilty about the situation.

Eiri turned over onto his side and sighed. _I hope he wasn't upset._ _Having to come and get me like that. _His eyes darted around the room for something to capture his attention and get his mind off the subtle pain from his head wound. Eventually, the open door to Shuichi's dark study drew his attention. On the desk that Shuichi worked at sat his laptop and a few other items scattered along the furniture's surface. Then Eiri caught a glimpse of what looked like a picture frame. Curiosity and the slightest fraction of boredom compelled him to leave the couch and examine the photograph.

Once he had made it to the dark study, he picked up the frame cautiously, making sure that he would not move anything else out of its place. He instantly found Shuichi. Eiri smiled to himself. Shuichi had that usual goofy smile on his face, only he was younger. Much younger. On his right, was another man. At this point, Eiri frowned. The face of the man was distorted and torn because the picture frame had been cracked in that area. Though, even with the crack, something seemed oddly familiar about the man. Eiri fought for recognition for a long moment until he heard a door close. Suddenly frightened, Eiri jumped and dropped the frame back in place.

Quickly, he threw himself back on the couch and closed his eyes, hoping Shuichi hadn't heard him. The soft footsteps came closer and Eiri did his best to loosen up his muscles.

Shuichi stopped on his way to the kitchen to check on Eiri. He sighed. "I know you're awake."

One of Eiri's eyes popped open, "How'd you know?"

"You're on top of the blanket." Shuichi went into the kitchen.

Eiri jumped up quickly. _Oh duh._ He followed Shuichi. The writer was getting out a box of pocky. "Yes?" He turned to face Eiri.

"Uhm…" Eiri hesitated. "Thanks…for hel- … saving me." He said it with a blush.

Shuichi was none the less surprised by Eiri's manners…and his attitude about it. Brushing it off, he walked past Eiri back into the living room, "It wasn't a problem."

Eiri followed him once more. "Did you have to take me to the hospital?"

Shuichi sat down on the couch that Eiri had been occupying. "Well, yeah. Even I couldn't have treated the wounds you got from that fall."

"So it really was bad." Eiri took in a breath and sat down next to him. "How'd you find me?"

"I got kind of worried about you. It was taking you awhile to get back. You weren't far from the complex."

Eiri hung his head, guilty, then he remembered the groceries. "Shit…I wasted my money on those groceries too…"

"Oh…so that's what I stepped on." Shuichi realized. "I thought it sounded like ramen."

"Aw, man…" Eiri said disappointed.

Shuichi placed a hand on Eiri's shoulder closest to him. "Did you get that loan?"

"Nope." Eiri's mood worsened.

_Should I help him out with the loan thing? _Shuichi contemplated the idea. _I kind of like having him around though…he's cute._ He then came to realization of what he was saying and quickly withdrew his hand from Eiri. _What the hell am I think?! He's still just a kid…_

Eiri turned to him, "Is something wrong?"

"N- …No. I'm just tired." He stood up to go to the bedroom. "You should get some more rest. Because you had to go to the hospital, it's almost two in the morning." Shuichi walked away with a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Ah…alright." _Wow…he's really generous._ Eiri lied down on the couch, this time with the blanket above him. Now that the lights were out, everything seemed lonely. _I wonder how he gets by. Being by himself for so long. I do it too…but I wonder how long he's lived like this._ He then fell asleep with similar thoughts going through his head.

* * *

Both men woke late because of the incident of the night before. As expected though, Shuichi was awake first. Coming into his study, he found that the picture frame he had there was out of place. _I don't remember moving it. _He looked through the open door to the person sleeping on the couch. _Did he come in here? Didn't I tell him not to come in here? _Sudden blame and paranoia built up in his system.

Deciding not to be around when Eiri woke up and find Shuichi angry, Shuichi went out of the complex without a coat to calm his nerves. _It's just the medicine making me this upset…right?_ Shuichi doubted himself in this regard. He stopped on the sidewalk and looked up at the grey sky. _I wish I could be like him again._

* * *

The two weeks passed quickly for Eiri to get the loan. It didn't happen and Tohma still wasn't back from his trip with Mika. So, coincidentally, Shuichi was the one that Eiri moved in with since he wasn't too friendly with Hiroshi and Noriko wouldn't take him in a million years.

"Are you sure you don't mind me moving in with you?" Eiri asked for the umpteenth time.

Shuichi dropped the last box on the floor of the entrance to his apartment, "Yeah. I don't mind." He looked around at all the boxes, "As long as you promise to get rid of some of this shit."

"It's not shit!" Eiri stamped his foot down. His hand and his head had healed well.

Shuichi shrugged with a mischievous smile, "I'm not sure what else you would call it since it's so dusty it's beyond recognition."

Eiri's face turned red, "It's dusty because it was in my place for so long going unused!!"

Sighing, Shuichi stopped the fight. "Seriously though, I don't have a lot of room in this place. Example, you're subjected to my couch. How will I fit these boxes here without it looking like a mess?"

Eiri looked around, knowing Shuichi was right. "I'm not sure." He admitted. He sat on the floor, legs crossed looking up as the boxes towered over him. "I guess I'll have to go through all the boxes."

Shuichi clapped his hands, "I'll get the garbage bags!!" He ran into the foyer closet to look for them.

"Don't push it!!" Eiri warned.

"Aw, come on." Shuichi sat down across from him, a handful of large bags in tow. "It might be fun going through all the stuff." He pulled a box between them and opened it up. "You know, memories and such."

"But that'll make it harder to throw it away!" Eiri pouted.

Shuichi chuckled, "You have to let go of stuff one time or another."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Eiri sighed in agreement.

Some time later in the process of cleaning out the boxes, they came upon a small album. "Hey, Eiri, what's this?" Shuichi asked jokingly, "You don't seem like the type who'd keep one of these." He teased.

Eiri blushed and tried to grab the keepsake from Shuichi, but with no avail. Eventually, they were both standing up with Eiri trying to grab it back as Shuichi held it above his head. "Give, it, back!!" Eiri said between every jump.

"Tell me why you like it so much first." Shuichi responded.

"No, you'll laugh!"

"Yeah…I probably will." Shuichi agreed honestly.

This fueled Eiri even more to keep jumping and try to get it back. Even if he knew it wasn't possible. "Give it-" Then there was a loud thud.

The last time he had jumped, he got his album back, but he had fallen on top of Shuichi. Naturally, they both shut their eyes to make the impact less dramatic.

Eiri was the first to open his tightly clamped eyes. Now, he was blushing harder than before. There was a long silence after Shuichi opened his eyes. They stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Eiri swallowed, too afraid to try and get up. His mind was close to static.

Shuichi looked into Eiri's eyes with curiosity. _Maybe…_ He closed his eyes again and placed his hand behind Eiri's neck while bringing his closer. _I do like him… _Soon, they were lip locked and Eiri was wide eyed to say the least. _Just a bit._ Shuichi concluded to himself.

It was such a shock to Eiri, _What is he thinking…_ but Eiri found himself not able to pull away. Deciding to give into the moment, Eiri closed his eyes also and dropped the album. At that moment, the kiss progressed to both of them on top of each other with their shirts removed.

They kissed again and Eiri ended up under Shuichi. The heat between the two that was generated, made Eiri's back sweat. Shuichi broke the kiss to let him and Eiri breathe. Eiri's eyes were closed again as were Shuichi's. When he opened them though, his stomach fell. _What __**am**__ I doing?_ He jumped off of Eiri, breathing heavily.

The sudden shift caused Eiri to open his eyes once more. He too, was breathing hard still. Silence fell between the two. It seemed like hours before Eiri decided to speak. "What the hell…was that?"

Shuichi shifted his face away from Eiri, "It was nothing." He then turned around, his back facing Eiri, "Nothing at all. Forget about it." He walked away into his study to which he slammed the door harshly.

Eiri shuddered at the sound of the door. His mind fished for a reason why Shuichi had stopped abruptly…and why he had even started. He stared down at the album that they had been originally fighting over. He picked it up, flipping through the pages, accounting a memory for each photo. And came to the last one. His eyes narrowed, denying emotion. "Sensei."

After awhile, he sighed and put his shirt back on and went back to the boxes. He and Shuichi finished most of them; a good two thirds of the stuff Eiri decided to throw away because of Shuichi's persuading. But after everything that happened only a few moments ago, Eiri mind was blank and he just sat there after opening a box. He brought his fingers to his lips, amazed at how the kiss had felt, ignoring the real person in his head screaming it was all wrong.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for the encouragement, guys. It really does give me the motivation to write more XD Shuichi's past is coming up in the next couple chapters, so hold your horses.


	8. Prefered Surprises

Story: Reverses Collide

Anime: Gravitation

Chapter 8: Prefered Surprises

* * *

The days passed awkwardly between Eiri and Shuichi since Shuichi's sudden showcase of strong affection towards Eiri. It seemed as if the only noise in the apartment was that of Shuichi's typing. Once Tohma and Mika had come back from Mika's business trip, Eiri quickly disappeared from the building to escape Shuichi's presence. After their first concert, of course. Tohma had just made it back in time to be dropped off at the club they were performing at. It wasn't a success anyway, and Tohma's lateness just made the whole situation worse.

"How could you not make your rent, Eiri?!" Tohma was lecturing him on his finances as Eiri had expected. "And why of all people do you decide to go Mr. Shindou?!"

"You guys were out of town." Eiri replied calmly, not moving from his position on Tohma's couch.

"Honestly, Eiri." Mika came into the room from behind several suitcases. "You couldn't have asked Noriko?"

"I don't know where she lives." He replied flatly.

Tohma sighed angered and rubbed his temples at the frustration. "Eiri…this better not effect how are jobs are going to work out."

"How would it?" Eiri asked half heartedly and disinterested.

"Eiri! You know that Mr. Shindou was with Fujisaki Suguru in their own band! Please don't tell me you can't make any connection!" Tohma raised his voice, dumbfounded at Eiri's attitude towards the situation.

Tohma's voice kept flying through the air and sounded like ink blots to Eiri. Whatever sound ink blots made anyway. His mind was still clouded with what happened between him and Shuichi. After staring blankly at his hands and blurring out Tohma's voice for several long moments, he stood up, making Tohma silence himself.

"I'll be living with Shuichi until I find an apartment." Eiri said, refusing to look at Tohma.

Mika held down a gasp as Eiri walked towards the door. Once he had slipped his shoes on, he stopped, but did still not face them. "Work starts tomorrow in case you forgot. I'll see you in the morning." With that, he left the building into the streets lined with afternoon sunlight.

Tohma and Mika looked at each other and back at the door, none the less surprised with Eiri's performance towards them. Finally, Mika spoke, "You know, he looks a lot taller when he's actually being serious."

"Huh?" Tohma didn't understand what she had just said.

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it." And she started dragging one of the many suitcases up the stairs.

* * *

Eiri shoved his hands down into his pockets. He really didn't want to start working yet. Even if it was an excuse to be away from Shuichi. And it really was an escape once it started. Working with Hiroshi was a lot more of a challenge than Eiri and Tohma had thought. Just keeping up with him as he moved smoothly from measure to measure and line to line, connecting the music together.

It didn't take long for their second concert to come up. The first was close to a flop even with all the endorsements by BD Studios. With that, Suguru warned that if this time wasn't a near record breaking success, they'd be dropped. Hiroshi of course had no problem with it considering he was set financially. The people who it would have effected most would have been Noriko, Tohma and of course, Eiri.

That's when the silence broke between Eiri and Shuichi. Eiri couldn't stop whining in fear or complaining out loud without even trying. This concerned Shuichi and so he inquired about Eiri's nervousness.

"I don't know if it's really going to be able to meet his expectations." Eiri pouted, curled in a ball and hugging his knees on Shuichi's living room couch. "And why would he schedule it on my birthday? Wouldn't have looked at my records or something before he set up a date?"

"Hm." Shuichi said to himself, "It's just like him to do stuff like that. Puts on the pressure. He never jokes around…so I can tell it's serious…" He said loud enough from his office for Eiri to hear.

"That doesn't help you know…" Eiri sighed._ I hate my birthdays anyway. Just signifies that I'm closer to becoming a shriveled prune. _

Shuichi smiled to himself, knowing Eiri couldn't see him. "Oh, I'm sure it'll work out."

Even though Eiri couldn't see him, he could almost hear the mischievousness in Shuichi's voice, making him assume it was something for his novel. Thinking doubtfully, Eiri fell asleep there and Shuichi was up rather late making some extra phone calls.

* * *

"Whoa…" Noriko was barely able to wrap her mind at the attendance of people that had already arrived for the concert. "Tohma…they didn't do nearly as much advertizing as last time and look at how packed it is already!!" The club that they were performing at wasn't even that big and it still managed to pack a nice crowd.

Tohma analyzed it as well. "Jeeze…we're not set to start for another twenty minutes…"

Eiri himself couldn't believe it either. "Maybe there was nothing else going on tonight and they all just came here." They all dismissed is as a blessing and prepared for the concert.

* * *

Suguru arrived at the event a couple minutes before show time, none the less surprised at the number of people were in the audience. He blinked a few times; just to be sure he wasn't seeing things. But they were there. All one hundred-fifty of them. Compared to the forty two last time, he knew it was going to be a success even if half the crowd got bored after the first three songs.

He knew it would have to have been a master mind behind this other than himself. That's when he spotted him in the back of the club. "Shuichi Shindou…" He said in a blank tone.

Shuichi looked up at him with a know-it-all smile, "Hi." He said simply.

"What favor did Eiri do for you that you felt the need to bring the crowd here?"

Shuichi just kept smiling, "Nothing really. He makes nice company though."

That's when Suguru figured out where Eiri had been staying the past few weeks and felt pretty stupid for not finding out earlier. He didn't have much time to feel this idiotic because the lights dimmed and there was faint music starting. "I guess we're going to be starting a CD soon." Suguru sighed and went to find a place closer to the stage.

* * *

Shuichi continued his up beat attitude as he watched Eiri perform on the stage with Tohma and Hiroshi. He stayed till the end and tried to sneak out, but with no success.

"Hey! Shuichi!!" A familiar voice rang with an echo through the now empty club.

Shuichi stopped in his tracks and faced Eiri. "Hey, kiddo."

"I didn't know you were coming! Why didn't you say anything?" Eiri was exhausted from the concert, but still had some energy in him which kept him smiling.

"Ah, I figured I'd keep it a surprise."

Eiri's eyes widened, "You mean you came to see _me_? I thought you'd be coming for Hiroshi…"

That's when Shuichi realized that Eiri had him pinned for excuses, "Eh, well, um…yeah. You were pretty good up there."

"Thanks." Eiri said gratefully, he opened his mouth to say something else, but Noriko's voice called him. "Oh, I'll be there in a minute!" He yelled back and turned to Shuichi, "We're going to go celebrate. Do you want to come?"

Shuichi shook his head, taking the opportunity of the situation to play hard to get. "I've got some writing to do. I'll see you when you get back."

"M'kay!!" Eiri quickly obliged and ran towards where Noriko, Hiroshi and Tohma were.

Shuichi watched him as he ran, _That little thing made him so happy? Hmm._ He walked out of the club and towards his apartment. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's still a child._

* * *

"This is it, Eiri!" Tohma gave him a nudge in the ribs as they sat at the bar stools.

"I know! It's so exciting!" Eiri replied in agreement.

"You two should really be proud of yourselves. You worked hard." Noriko complimented him and Tohma on their work. She never gave out comments like fliers, and when she did, it was an unexpected gold mine.

Hiroshi nodded in agreement. "To the start of your new album!" He held up a beer glass and everyone else followed suit with a cheer.

Eiri drank it up quickly, until Noriko realized something. "Eiri…aren't you only nineteen?"

Tohma spoke for Eiri, "Nope…he turns twenty today."

"Tohma!" Eiri got red in the face. "You don't have to broadcast it you know…"

"Well congrats on that too!" Hiroshi smiled. And with that came another round of cheers.

* * *

"Oi…those guys are such a pain when they're drunk." Eiri grumbled when he walked through the door of Shuichi's apartment. "Especially when you're trying to tell them that the yellow snow isn't a new type of candy." He slipped hit his shoes to get the snow off and put them aside along with his coat and scarf.

A voice came from the hallway, "Really? I never thought that Hiro drank that much…"

Eiri jumped at Shuichi's voice. "Oh…I didn't know you were still awake. Or did I wake you?"

Shuichi shook his head, "I've been up writing anyway." They both made their way to the kitchen table where Shuichi had prepared some hot chocolate.

"You didn't have to invite all those people you know, Shuichi." Eiri looked at Shuichi as the grown man downed down the sweet drink. Eiri himself didn't prefer them, so he left his aside knowing Shuichi would consume it later if allowed.

Not bothering to ask how he figured it out, Shuichi smiled, "I couldn't let Fujisaki throw you out just like that." He sat back, "It would suck for that to happen on your birthday."

Eiri shrugged, "I don't really care about my birthday. It's just another day of my life."

Shuichi looked at him dumbfounded. "You don't even like the presents…or the cake?"

"You know I don't like sweets and I can buy myself presents." It seemed for once Eiri had an excuse for everything.

Shuichi's face grew serious, "But you know there are some presents that not even money will get you."

Eiri didn't have much time to ponder what he meant, for the next thing he knew, he was kissing Shuichi. His heart beat fast as he realized that Shuichi was correct. He would never be able to buy a present to the equivalent of any love.

They progressed to the couch and Eiri ended up underneath Shuichi. They paused for a moment to take a breath.

"You…aren't going…to just stop this time…are you?" Eiri asked breathless.

"Not…unless you want…me to." Shuichi replied bringing his hands up Eiri's back.

"No…not at all." Eiri smiled weakly before his lips met Shuichi's. Like before, Eiri was blown away by the passion Shuichi gave to him, except this time it wasn't just a taste of bliss. It was the whole package to which Eiri was surprised and grateful for.

* * *

A/N: There you all go. Now, I PROMISE Shuichi's past will be in the next chapter, so save your throwing bricks for another story. I thought a little more relationship development at the end would be a nice reward for those readers who are being very patient with my lack of updating. XD


	9. Interlocking Sorrows

Story: Reverses Collide

Anime: Gravitation

Chapter 9: Interlocking Sorrows

* * *

"_Hey…Shuichi?" Eiri asked from the other side of the bed._

_Shuichi didn't turn over to face him, but acknowledge his inquiry. "Yes?"_

"_Thank you." He scooted closer to Shuichi and hugged him from behind. He's so warm. Eiri thought to himself as he breathed in Shuichi's scent._

_Shuichi smiled and kissed one of Eiri's hands and held it against his cheek, "You're very welcome. Happy Birthday."_

* * *

All had been going well between Shuichi and Eiri since Eiri's birthday. Nittle Grasper's CD had finally come out and was a huge success. Shuichi most recent novel had been finally approved by his editor, K, and was also on the best seller list. What was even more of an improvement, and still a secret, was Eiri and Shuichi's relationship. Everyone including Tohma and Hiroshi suspected something between the two, but said nothing. Suguru had also put the puzzle pieces together, but neither of the three decided to mess with anything. They all thought it was going to be a week long relationship and then they'd get sick of each other.

Of course, that theory was put to rest once a month went by and they were still living together. At this point, Eiri had ceased searching for a new apartment, finding himself quite comfortable living with Shuichi.

Finally, during a lunch break in the studio, Hiroshi decided to ask Eiri about him and his friend. "So…did you really hook up with Shuichi?"

Eiri blushed at the suddenness of the question. "No…" He looked away, a bit embarrassed.

Hiroshi gave him a stern look signifying he knew that Eiri wasn't telling the truth.

"Maybe…" Eiri looked back at Hiroshi to find he hadn't changed his facial expression. "Ok! Yes…we are…together." Eiri continued to blush.

"Jeeze…" Hiroshi sighed exhausted over the matter, "I knew Shu was hiding _something_ from me…" He turned away from Eiri and leaned his head against the wall behind him. "I didn't think it would be that though."

"Is there something wrong with being with him?" Eiri asked quickly, a bit worried and insulted at the same time.

Hiroshi thought for a moment, staring into nothing. "Just make sure you treat him well, ok?" He pushed himself from the wall, and headed out of the room. "I don't need him to go through it again." He said lowly to himself.

Eiri barely heard the last part, but didn't ask him what it meant. What has Shuichi been through that it was so traumatizing… His mind wandered at the subject. Secretly he vowed to himself he wouldn't let Shuichi get hurt like he did before. Even though he didn't know how it even happened in the first place.

* * *

It seemed that time had flown without mercy since that cold day near the end of November that Eiri's apartment had been taken away. December had gone by as did January and then it had been Eiri's birthday at the end of February. So quickly, four months went by. And through it all, Eiri and Shuichi's relationship had developed quite nicely considering the circumstances.

Tohma by now was a little concerned and decided to visit Shuichi when Eiri wasn't around. So, he dictated that it was his turn to lecture the other side of the relationship as Hiroshi had done to Eiri. Except with not as good intentions in mind. Even though it was near the end of March, the weather was still unpredictable, and on this day it happened to be quite rainy.

Tohma knocked on the door hesitantly, never meeting Shuichi formally; he hoped that it would be a positive meeting.

Shuichi answered the door, a bit dazed from his medication, but once he realized who it was, he gave his full attention. "You must be Eiri's brother in-law…right?" He smiled warmly.

"Yes. Tohma Seguchi. You can just call me Tohma though." He decided to play friendly, even though he didn't really approve of the whole relationship.

"Would you like to come in?"

"No, actually, I was just around and I figured I'd finally get to meet you." Tohma replied quickly, "I just want you to know, I don't approve of your relationship with Eiri."

Shuichi's face straightened up as Tohma said this.

"Therefore, if you give me any suspicions that you may hurt him in anyway, I'll give it back in your face ten fold." Tohma said it with a brutal tone but it refused to sway Shuichi's state of mind.

"Mr. Seguchi," Shuichi no refused to call him by his permitted name, "I can assure you Eiri and I are quite comfortable together. And just by saying that, I, and especially Eiri, do not need _your_ approval to continue our relationship."

Shuichi's well thought out response shocked Tohma successfully. "You know it won't last though. So stop holding him on a string already."

The pink haired writer slightly laughed at this, "I've _hardly_ been pursuing it. If anything, he's the one who has me on a string."

"Well than I feel quite sorry for you when he decides to get bored of you." Tohma said sharply and left with no other words.

The words had no effect on Shuichi on the front of his mind, but deeply, it cut him and he slowly closed the door to the apartment. This was when the medicine's reign took over Shuichi's mind and the paranoia began, even though he best tried to contain it. He hadn't had one of these episodes for a long time now since Eiri had started living with him. And like he did whenever these incidents occurred, he slumped against a wall for support as he held his head, trying to sort out the rights and wrongs.

* * *

"Hey, Tohma. What took you so long from your lunch break?" Eiri asked leaning over his keyboard as Tohma came into the recording room.

"There was a long line at the café." Tohma replied, lying about his real activities.

"Oh…well, Noriko said we get the rest of the day off anyway because we've been doing so great lately."

"Ah, so that's why Hiroshi isn't here…"

Eiri nodded, "Yeah…so I'm going to get back to Shuichi's place." He grabbed his messenger bag that carried his phone and other assortments, "You should really get to know him. He's really caring." He turned to face Tohma, "And I know you don't like how things have turned out between me and him, but I really do want to be with him."

This small speech shocked Tohma and left him searching for words. _Since when was Eiri so confident about something like this? He's always been…afraid and indecisive. Why has he changed so much?_

"I'll see you later!" Eiri dashed out of the recording room, eager to see Shuichi before Tohma could stop him to speak to him about what had happened earlier.

* * *

Though the paranoia had eventually calmed down to a reasonable level, Shuichi was still unsteady mentally. He half crawled on the floor of the apartment, breathing heavily. He made his way to the couch to which he nearly collapsed on. Underneath the cushion though he felt a hard, flat something which made it uncomfortable. After a few minutes of rest, and he regained some energy he lifted the cushion to see what it was. _God, that was such a bizarre episode…it hurt so much too…but I know Eiri would never leave me just because of his brother in-law's opinion…right?_ Doubt continued to circle his mind, but was postponed as he realized what the hard item was under the couch cushion was. Eiri's photo album. He smiled to himself slightly as he found himself curious as to why it had been so embarrassing to Eiri earlier.

Shuichi flipped through the pages as he looked at a much younger Eiri in his childhood. His smile faded and his heart sank when he came to the last picture. He stared at it for a long, excruciating moment. Unwanted memories bombarded his mind as he ran into his office and grabbed the picture frame of his desk to compare the photo to one in Eiri's album. In Eiri's photo, was Eiri of course, probably at the age of sixteen, sitting next to man that had light brown hair and tired hazel eyes. It looked like they were in an outside setting.

"No…Eiri…?" He just about smashed the already cracked picture frame and grabbed the picture that was his. It was the same man sitting next to Shuichi also. Except, he also, was younger in Shuichi's picture. And he was wearing what looked like a sincere smile. Shuichi's knees buckled under him and fell into a fetal position of shock, still clutching both of the photos. I _never thought you would have done it to me…I was so stupid…I didn't see that lust…you were so remorseful after it…you said you'd never do it again…_ Shuichi took in a deep breath. "YUKI…YOU BASTARD!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as fighting tears fell freely down his cheeks.

* * *

When Eiri walked into the apartment, it was deathly silent, and dark which frankly worried him. "Shuichi? Are you here?"

He went to look in the kitchen when he saw from the hall, Shuichi on the floor. "Shuichi!" Eiri kneeled down and with as much strength as he could, lifted Shuichi's upper body onto his lap. Shuichi's eyes were closed, but he was breathing normally. Eiri wiped the stray hairs from Shuichi's face and found that his cheeks were wet with tears. It made Eiri hurt emotionally to know that Shuichi had been crying so hard.

Eiri's eyes examined Shuichi's crumpled position which eventually lead to his tightly clenched fists. He noted the odd paper that was inside them. _Is that what was making him so upset?_ Deciding to find out for himself, he carefully eased Shuichi's hands and slipped the papers from him. Once he felt the substance, he figured out it was actually two photos.

Like Shuichi's reaction as Eiri found the similarity in the two when he held them up to his face, his heart seemed to stop and he let out a loud gasp which awoke Shuichi. The older man snapped up from his position and turned to face Eiri. The silence ate away at their mental states and Shuichi finally released his fear verbally. "How do you know him?!" Shuichi grabbed Eiri by the shoulders causing him to drop the pictures. "Did he ever hurt you?!" Eiri though, was too scared to respond.

"Damnit Eiri!" Shuichi shook him slightly, "Answer me!" He tried to avoid the tears that needed to be let out as did Eiri.

Eiri finally found the strength to speak…"Mr. Kitazawa…he was…my teacher in New York…Tohma sent me there because he was his friend and I wanted to start a writing career…but…" He stopped to keep the tears from coming and took in a pained breath, "He shot himself in the head. Right in front of me." Eiri hung his head as he recalled the event, "He said he wouldn't let himself to 'it' again. I didn't know what it was at the time until Tohma got a hold of his criminal record…the victim's name was disclosed." He raised his head too look at Shuichi with his watery eyes, "You were the victim…weren't you?"

Shuichi's grip on Eiri's shoulders loosened in an instant as he recited his associations with Yuki. "Hiro, Suguru and I were looking for some one to help write lyrics for us when Bad Luck first started. Suguru's friend, Yuki Kitazawa offered to help out. Though…one of our sessions…I was alone with him and…he drugged me." Eiri looked upon Shuichi with sympathy and wrapped his arms around him tightly. "When Hiro and Suguru came back though…it was all over. I know he went to prison for a few years after that and that he was remorseful and went back to teaching." Shuichi hugged Eiri tightly also.

_That's why Shuichi stopped singing and Ryuichi Sakuma took his place…Tohma and Suguru were never close…so the information was never reached when Tohma and I went to New York to see him. Since I had witnessed Mr. Kitazawa's suicide, I had become more of a pain in everyone's ass with a bad attitude. Shuichi helped change that about me. But I can't imagine what torture he went through after someone who he thought he could trust took away his innocence. I don't know how Shuichi kept it so silent to himself all these years. _ It all made sense in Eiri's mind. Shuichi started to cry hard as all the memories he tried so hard to put to rest flooded his mind.

The only way that Eiri felt he could respond is if he held on to Shuichi tighter. He wanted to take away this pain from Shuichi. He wanted to do _anything_ to take it away.

* * *

They eventually fell asleep holding each other, Eiri's head tucked under Shuichi's chin. Shuichi was the first to wake. When he did, he looked down at Eiri with sorrowful eyes. The medicine was still in its effect, only now with the sudden reminder of the reason he took the drugs did he become irrational. The irrationality took over the paranoia surrounding his thoughts.

Shuichi stood up and looked down at Eiri once more. His body still in the position that it had been when Shuichi was next to him. Just like a puzzle piece missing its match. "Thank you, Eiri." He lightly kissed the blonde's forehead.

Eiri opened his eyes to the dark apartment. When he realized Shuichi was no longer next to him, he jumped up and called his name several times to which there was no answer. _Where did he go?_ He ran towards the apartment door when something on the console caught his eye. It was a piece of paper that hadn't been there when he came home before. _Oh…he left a note._ Feeling a bit stupid for panicking, he picked it up.

The relief didn't last long as he read it and his chest ached as he reread it over and over just to make sure he hadn't missed something. But it was there. It didn't change.

"_Eiri,_

_I'm sorry to say this is my farewell to you for good._

_I love you so much…_

_-Shuichi_"

Eiri resisted to fall down knowing he didn't have a lot of time. "No…you idiot…" He whispered. What he was more afraid if was that it was already too late.

* * *

A/N: I ran into a lot of trouble with this chapter. While I wanted to give more day-to-day development, I had promised you guys I'd include Shuichi's past. So no complaining about the cliffhanger XD And yes, I was thinking to myself, "Just how much of an ass can I make Tohma feel like?" I really don't like him in the regular series as it is.


	10. Deterioration

Story: Reverses Collide

Anime: Gravitation

Chapter 10: Deterioration

* * *

"Shuichi!! Shuichi!!" Eiri screamed as hard as he could. It was still so dark outside even if it wasn't that late because of the transition from winter to spring, and though it wasn't raining anymore, everything was slippery. Eiri had already fallen on his ass a few times. But now matter how badly it hurt, he knew he had to get to where Shuichi was.

Though the note Shuichi had left him did not say specifically where his destination would be or why he was leaving Eiri, Eiri just knew what it meant. He only had enough time to run to one place. The park where they had met. Eiri could only hope that Shuichi had chosen that spot. The railing that got a beautiful view of Tokyo. The railing that guarded people from falling down a dangerous cliff.

Eiri couldn't feel his legs he was running so fast. His throat was so dry from breathing heavily. Every time his body wanted to give into the pain, memories of Shuichi reminded it why he had to endure the torture. He finally made it to the location. Eiri's heart raced and fell when he didn't see Shuichi in sight.

"I…was wrong?" Eiri breathed heavily. _Then_ _where is he? Shuichi…where did you go?_ He asked himself desperately. "Where are you?!" He fell to his knees on the wet ground, not understanding a thing that was happening. _Did you run away? Did you get on a plane? Did you…kill yourself?_ Eiri felt helpless and started to cry. What made it worse is he knew no one was hearing him. No one was going pick him up and tell him it would be ok and that Shuichi was safe. He didn't know what to do. If he called the police, how would they find him? Eiri dragged himself home, deciding to wait a day to see if news came up at all before he started to panic even more.

* * *

The next day Eiri showed up for work expecting Hiroshi and Suguru to be taking the day off if Shuichi had committed suicide. Bracing himself to see an empty recording room, he walked in holding a breath. Though, it thoroughly surprised him to see Hiroshi practicing on his guitar.

Confused, he spoke up to get Hiroshi's attention, "Hey, have you seen Shuichi?"

Hiroshi looked up, also confused, "What are you talking about?"

Eiri shook his head, "Never mind." He went to leave the room when Hiroshi spoke again.

"No…you mean…he didn't tell you?"

Eiri turned around quickly, "Tell me what?" He tried to keep calm, not knowing what the severity of what he was going to be told.

Hiroshi blinked just as confused as Eiri, "He left Japan, Eiri."

Eiri's heart dropped, "What…? Why?"

Hiroshi shook his head, "He just called me this morning telling me not to get all panicked. That's all I know."

Eiri felt frozen. _Why Shuichi? Why couldn't you tell me? I was so worried about you…_

"Eiri…you don't look well…why don't you take today off?" Noriko asked from the back of the room.

"Yeah…I'll do that…" Dazed he nodded and slipped out of the recording room.

In the elevator, Eiri closed out all the senses around him._ Who would know where he is? I have to find him…I need him… _A memory came back to him from not too long after Eiri's birthday.

* * *

_"Eiri, stop leaving your crap on the floor already!" Shuichi said irritated. It was probably the twelfth time today that he had tripped over Eiri's belongings._

_"It's not crap! I don't know how it got there..." He responded like a child._

_"So, a fairy just transported your 'precious items' from the bedroom onto the floor here." Shuichi emphasized jokingly the importance of Eiri's things._

_Eiri just gave him a dirty look, and just as he was about to speak, the phone rang._

_Shuichi sighed annoyed, "I got it." He walked over to the end table in the room, and picked up the phone. "Yeah?" He asked._

_"You shouldn't greet your old friend like that you know." The voice said on the other end._

_"Fujisaki?" Shuichi asked surprised he was bothering him. "Do you need something?"_

_"No, not really."_

_"That's a surprise." Shuichi said even more stunned, "Then why are you calling?"_

_"Oh, you make it sound like that I only try to contact you for my own interest." Shuichi opened his mouth to object, but Suguru spoke before him. "Anyway...I am aware that Mr. Eiri is staying with you. Yet, I have to ask if his really searching for an apartment still."_

_"Well of course he isn't. We're living together." Shuichi replied as if it were old news._

_"And why may that be?"_

_"Gee, I don't know. Because he's my _**_lover_**_." Shuichi said loud and clear to make sure Eiri was listening._

_"What?!" Suguru yelled from the other end._

_Shuichi smiled evilly. Mission accomplished. He thought to himself._

_Eiri was blushing now, "Who are you talking to?!" He squeaked._

_"You know how I'm against that!! And of all people, my employee!!" Suguru was pretty fired up now._

_Shuichi stifled his giggle, "Sorry, but I can't keep Eiri waiting for long. He's getting pretty upset that I left the bed." He hung up and fell on the floor laughing._

_Suguru was utterly disturbed and dropped the phone onto it's receiver and shuddered._

_Eiri stomped over to Shuichi, "Who was that?!"_

_"Oh...just Fujiaski." He smiled knowing that it annoyed Eiri._

_"My..my boss?!" Eiri's eyes almost bugged out, "You told that to my boss?!" He squeaked. Eiri pinned Shuichi onto the floor, which was easy at the moment since Shuichi was already down, but Shuichi quickly reversed the position since Eiri was so weak. Shuichi was smirking as he knew Eiri wasn't able to get out of the position and Eiri just glared back. "Why did he call you?"_

_"He said we were unfit to be together." Shuichi said simply._

_"For someone who says I'm their lover, you take it quite lightly." Eiri said clearly._

_"I said that to him because he should know by now he can't tell me what to do."_

_"So what are you going to do about it when he gives me a hard time at work?"_

_"Trust me...he won't. Since I said that to him, he'll best know to keep his mouth shut."_

_Eiri smirked, "Want to prove to me that I'm your lover?" Since you flat out embarrassed me. Eiri thought, but decided to keep it to himself._

_"Getting quick about that now aren't you?" Shuichi lightly chuckled before kissing Eiri._

* * *

Eiri's eyes widened, "Suguru." Once the elevator doors opened, he dashed out, and headed towards the stairs. The fact that he had just been in an elevator didn't register. He didn't need to know what floor he was on because he knew that all he had to do was get to the top.

Passing straight by Suguru's secretary, he entered the office, noting there was no one else in the room except for the man he was looking for. "Where is he?"

Suguru looked up from his papers to see a disheveled Eiri who was exhausted from running up the stairs. "Who?"

Eiri made his way to Suguru's desk, "Don't fuck with my head damnit, where is he?!" He slammed his hands on the furniture to make his point.

"If you're referring to Shuichi as 'he' than I apologize to be the one to inform you that he has left Japan." Suguru said calmly, keeping his victory against their relationship hidden as best he could.

"I know that! Where?!" Eiri gritted his teeth. "What country?! What town?!"

Suguru slightly smirked at his frustration, "He specifically said to leave out that information from your knowledge. So I must respect those wishes, Eiri."

Eiri backed off to a reasonable posture, looking like a lost puppy.

"Therefore, unless you'd like to be suspended for more misconduct, I'd advise you to take a vacation." Suguru waited for a response, sure to himself that Eiri would give up.

Eiri lowered his head and slightly laughed, "You bastard."

"Excuse me?"

The blonde straightened his face and looked Suguru square in the eyes, "You think I'll give up that easily? Playing as the puppeteer? News flash, it's my life. And if the only way to get that through your head is my resigning, then fine." He paused, "I quit." He turned and left the office in one fell swoop, totally emotionless.

This left Suguru shocked. He sat there, unsure if what he just heard was real. Finally deciding what to do, he picked up the phone and dialed Tohma's number.

* * *

Eiri found himself wandering aimlessly around the city. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. No one to see. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked up at the sky. _Shuichi...where are you?_ He stared helplessly among the see of people around him.

* * *

A/N: I was going to end the story with this chapter but I thought to myself "NAW. LET'S KEEP IT ROLLING." So there will be two to three more chapters before it ends ;D


	11. In Due Time?

Story: Reverses Collide

Anime: Gravitation

Chapter 11: In Due Time?

* * *

Tohma sighed as he walked along towards Shuichi's apartment. This time his reason to be there was not for Shuichi but for Eiri. No one else had seen him since he stormed out of BD Studios.

* * *

_The phone in Tohma's pocket vibrated persistently as he was on his way to work, sighing annoyed, he opened it, "Hello?"_

"_Tohma. I really need to speak to you."_

"_Can't it wait till I get there?" Tohma asked bored._

"_No. It can't." Suguru said firmly as a response to Tohma's laziness._

"_Why?" He started to sound a little more concerned._

"_It's about Eiri. He's quitting."_

"_What?!" Tohma couldn't believe it, "Why?"_

"_Shuichi left Japan for New York, and Eiri figured out I had something to do with getting him there. I felt he was being unreasonable about the matter, and warned him. But apparently, he wasn't taking any chances and just flat out decided he was through." Suguru explained, but of course leaving out his participation in Eiri's anger._

"_Jeeze…" Tohma sighed, "What do you want me to do about it?"_

"_Talk to him at least. Make him change his mind."_

"_I don't know if I'll be able to do that."_

"_Which one?"_

"_The first one will be hard enough. But changing his mind... he's really transformed since he met Shuichi."_

* * *

So there he was. At the doorstep, contemplating whether he'd actually be able to do what he planned. Deciding it was mandatory; he knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

He heard something fall soon after his knock, which worried him. "Eiri?" He jiggled the door knob. Finding it was unlocked, he entered the dark apartment. "Eiri?" He asked again. Tohma wrinkled his nose at the pungent smell of cigarette smoke that hadn't been there when he first came to the apartment.

"What do you want…?" Eiri asked from the couch in the living room. He sat up, hair covering half of his face and his shirt was removed which gave him a tired appearance.

"I came to talk to you." Tohma replied, trying not to stutter.

"About what? Me quitting?" Eiri asked disgusted, "You can't change my mind. Not unless I know where Shuichi is."

Tohma swallowed, "Originally, that's what I planned. But I knew you weren't going to agree with me."

"Then what do you want?" Eiri asked irritated.

"I came to talk to you about the night Shuichi left."

"Why? He left…Suguru's the one who should be telling me about it."

"He left because of me, Eiri." Tohma said honestly.

Eiri laughed long and hard, "That's bull shit. Because of you?"

Tohma's facial expressions refused to change, even as Eiri insulted his authority. "During that lunch break, I actually came here. I told Shuichi that I didn't approve of your relationship with him an-"

Eiri cut him off, "Why is it always about approval with you fucktards? Huh?! Approval, acceptance…what the fuck does it matter as long as I'm happy?!" He yelled, making his point clear.

"Eiri…" Tohma made sure he had the boy's attention, "What I told him, basically, was that you didn't love him."

Seconds of silence came between them when Tohma said this, and Eiri's face went from darkly amused to bloody rage. He launched himself from the couch, towards Tohma who wasn't less than a meter away, and punched his face, knocking him to the ground. This was the one time, Eiri found the strength to fight back for something he cherished.

Breathing heavily, Eiri started to yell once more, "You knew he was on medicine! What the fuck did you think he was going to do if you said that?! I thought he killed himself that night!! Do you fucking know what that's like?" Tears sprang from his eyes as he continued to spout off incomprehensive words and sentences.

Tohma, who was totally surprised at the sheer strength that put him to the floor, propped himself on his elbows, unable to speak.

"Get out." Eiri said in a sore voice from crying. His head hung weakly, but when he didn't hear a shift in body weight acknowledging his command, it snapped up and he screamed loud and clear, "Get out!!"

Unsteadily, Tohma rose to his feet and walked towards the door. He wanted to say something like, "You shouldn't smoke, it'll ruin your voice." But he knew it wouldn't be heard and would just be a waste of words. So he left, and upon closing the door, he could hear Eiri crying still which made him tense knowing he had been the one that caused his pain.

* * *

Shuichi found himself in a hotel room in New York City. Why this city? He thought to himself. Then he remembered why. First place that came to mind. Maybe I'll try Chicago. And other city's names ran trough his troubled head as he tried to escape the reason he had come to the city in the first place.

He looked out of the window from his room, it was a nice view. Near Times Square, and high above the ground where he could see other people's lives play out on the streets. So many lives out there…each one with a purpose. I wonder what it's like...for each one of them. Shuichi put his arm against the window and rested his head on his limb. It had already been five days in New York, and it was a painful five days.

"Eiri…" He whispered to himself and closed his eyes.

* * *

"_Shuichi!" Eiri called from the front door of the apartment, "I'm home!"_

"_Oh goodie!" Shuichi came to him and took a grocery bag from his full arms, "Holy shit you bought a lot of stuff."_

"_Yeah, I know, you need to start eating better." Eiri took the bags to the kitchen counter and started to unpack them._

_Shuichi stopped in his tracks, with a mortified look upon his face, "What are you going to make me eat?"_

"_Oh…you know." Eiri said as he placed a box of oat meal in one of the cabinets, "Protein, Vitamins, stuff you need."_

"_Since when did you get so food smart?" Shuichi chuckled. "It's hard for you not to burn anything."_

_Eiri turned and shot him a glare before going back to the cabinets "Doesn't mean I don't know what isn't good for you."_

_Finally they came to the last bag. "Shit, Eiri. You got enough stuff to last me a decade."_

"_I'm eating it too, you idiot." Eiri rolled his eyes and took out the contents of the bag._

_Shuichi gasped when he saw what it was. "Wh- Where did you get th- that?!" He stammered pointing at a giant sized box of strawberry pocky._

"_Oh, this?" Eiri smirked, "You can have it once you start getting into good eating habits." _

_Shuichi gave him a bored look, "Sadist."_

"_Mormon." Eiri quickly replied feeling confident at what he just said._

_Shuichi did his best not to laugh. "Eiri…do you even know what that is?"_

"…_A religion?" _

_Soon, Shuichi couldn't hold it back any longer and let out a loud laugh at Eiri's complacency. _

"_Whaaat?!" Eiri demanded to know what was so funny._

_Finally Shuichi's laughing calmed enough for him to respond, "I love you, Eiri." _

_Eiri looked at him as if he had two heads, "And you call me the weirdo." He headed towards the bedroom to hide the pocky, "But I love you too." He called back to Shuichi._

_Shuichi smiled and ran after him, "You can't hide that stuff from me! I can __**smell**__ it!"_

"_Oh yeah?!" Eiri replied, "We'll see about that!!" The competition of the giant strawberry pocky was on._

* * *

Eiri laid there on the floor of the apartment, just taking long drags and exhaling it back into the air above him. He had already gone through an entire pack since coming back from BD Studios. At this point, it didn't matter where Shuichi was, because Eiri had the feeling he wasn't coming back. _He probably left me because he couldn't take the fact that I had been tainted by Mr. Kitazawa. Even if it was different, I know it still hurt him._

He pressed his index and middle finger against his forehead to relieve the tension headache he was experiencing. _That's just great. I lost my love and my job all within twenty four hours. Way to go Eiri._ He thought sarcastically to himself. _I wonder how many more failures I'll achieve within the next couple days._

* * *

Shuichi decided to get off his ass and actually do something while he was in New York. Not only were the streets congested, but the sidewalks were too. Especially around a club with squealing teenagers. _Huh. Must be a celebrity or something. _He thought to himself.

Though, when the "celebrity" made it through the crowd, he ran right towards Shuichi, stopping just inches away from him. He looked up at Shuichi's face as he was leaned over from stopping himself, "Shuichi?" He asked curiously.

"Eh?" Shuichi responded, not recognizing the man's face.

"Uwahhh!! I can't believe you don't remember me!!" He childishly started to cry.

That's when it clicked in Shuichi's head, "Ah! Don't cry Ryu! I remember you."

"Really?!" Ryuichi brightened up quickly and noted that the fans decided to leave him alone for once which was odd. "How about we go to an ice cream parlor?"

"Sounds good." Shuichi said with a tired smile and followed Ryuichi as he bounded from sidewalk to sidewalk trying to remind him that there were traffic lights.

* * *

A/N: I love you guys XD


	12. I Miss You

Story: Reverses Collide

Anime: Gravitation

Chapter 12: I Miss You

* * *

Once they were settled in a nice restaurant, Ryuichi was the first to speak, "So, Shu, what brings you to New York? You should have told me you were here…I could have asked for a small vacation."

It had always been odd between the two considering Ryuichi had gone in his place as the vocalist for Bad Luck when the incident happened with Kitazawa. They had always been close friends like Shuichi was with Hiroshi. But that one visit in New York changed everything and everyone that had to do with Shuichi's life. After that, Shuichi had closed himself off of Suguru, Hiroshi, Ryuichi and others just so he wouldn't have to remember.

"Sorry…I would have told you." Shuichi replied, feeling guilty, "This trip…was planned at the last minute."

"Oh," Ryuichi sat back, surprised. "It's not like you to do those things. What's going on in Japan that drove you here?"

Shuichi looked away for a moment. He knew he could trust Ryuichi, but it had been so long since they talked. "To put it in short," He thought of a quick way to say it all, "I don't think I belong there anymore. Too much has changed."

Ryuichi stared at him, a bit puzzled. "It seems like a very abridged version of what happened, Shu. I can tell by the look on your face." His childish side vanished, and like always, it surprised Shuichi. "Please…don't lie. Maybe I can help."

Small tears escaped Shuichi's control and he quickly tried to wipe them away. "It's ok, Shu." Ryuichi reached over the table and placed his hand on Shuichi's shoulder. "Now, tell me…please." He said desperately wanting to help.

Shuichi nodded like a toddler and explained what had happened within the past months. "I love him but…that reminder is too much." He confessed.

Ryuichi didn't sigh, but as he thought, he stuck a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. He swallowed, but out came the advice he had promised. "You need to put that incident behind you Shu."

"But. It was so traumatizing." Shuichi said not understanding.

"Shu. You must put the past behind you. If you can't how are you going to protect what's important to you now." Ryuichi said in a serious tone like a parent talking to a child about why they shouldn't do drugs.

Shuichi looked at him with sorrowful eyes as he said this.

"You love Eiri. Don't you?"

"Yes. More than anything." Shuichi nodded.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" He poked his friend with his spoon.

Shuichi lightly smiled, "You're right." He looked at the clock on the wall of the parlor, "I won't have time to get a ticket though."

Ryuichi smiled, proud that he had helped his friend, "I would call you in one, but like you said, it's kind of late." Shuichi nodded with a sigh. "It would probably be best though for you to think through what you're going to say anyway."

"You're right." Shuichi said gratefully, "Thank you Ryuichi." He stood up from the booth. "You know, what they say is right."

"What's that?" Ryuichi asked.

"Old people are wiser." He snickered.

"Hey! I'm only four years older than you!!" He hissed, insulted.

Shuichi just smiled politely as he began to retreat from the table.

Ryuichi's mature side seemed to disappear and his childish part of him kicked in as if on contact. "Are you going to eat your ice cream?" He asked sheepishly with the spoon in his mouth.

"Nope. Go ahead." The writer replied, and as he walked out of the building, Ryuichi chowed down on Shuichi's ice cream. He brought out a pink bear plush from his coat and played pretend with it. "Isn't that great, Kuma? Shuichi and Eiri are going to live happily ever after!"

* * *

_He's never coming back. _Eiri decided as if it made it any less painful. He leaned against the iron railing of the apartment balcony. It was a tad wobbly, and since Shuichi didn't stay on the balcony much, he didn't bother to get it fixed which irked Eiri. He let out a puff of smoke from his "cancer stick" or as he called it his "stress release".

_It's been a week already. He's not coming back for me._ Eiri's eyes were puffy from crying already, so he decided not to bother wasting anymore tears. _Maybe I'll start going back into writing. But if my lyrics are as horrible as he said, my stories will probably be worse._ A mental sigh rang through his aching head; _Maybe I'll just get hit by a car. Then this contemplation, this pain…it will be over with._ The pessimistic side he had done his best to weaken came back over the situation.

_He wouldn't like that though…would he?_ Before Eiri knew it, his cigarette was gone. "Then again, he wouldn't like me smoking either." He flicked the butt from the balcony and took out his pack to light a new one. Only problem was, that had been his last one.

Growling angrily, and deciding that he didn't want to wait for his nicotine, he went back into the apartment and slipped on his shoes. "Why are they always gone?" He mumbled to himself as he walked to the store. _I don't even like smoking that much._ Eiri tried to find the reason he did it in the first place. _It's just that when I do…I don't feel as…lonely I guess._ He laughed to himself at this excuse, _What am I four? Since I've been doing it so heavily lately, I guess I'm going to have to go through with drawl._ _That'll definitely be a bitch._

* * *

"_Eiri, what are you doing?" Shuichi came over to the railing of the balcony, concerned._

"_What does it look like?" He gave a quick, snide reply as he let out a deathly cloud of smoke from his lips. _

_Shuichi's face maintained a worried presence, "What are you stressed about?" Keeping in mind that Eiri only gave into the cravings when he was spent by something at work._

_Eiri sighed, irritated already by the issue, "Noriko keeps saying my voice is shit these days. It gets annoying."_

_The older man opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by Eiri's clear voice, "And don't tell me, 'It won't get better from smoking.' I know damn well it won't." His eyes narrowed over the city view. _

_Shuichi turned away from Eiri and looked at the lights as well, "I just…worry about you." He paused, unsure of the singer's attention, "I wouldn't forgive you if you developed cancer."_

_Eiri's features softened at Shuichi's words and he drew a short breath, "Thank you." He said quietly. An innocent smile came upon his lips, "How about a deal," He faced Shuichi with a confident voice._

"_Talk about mood swing, but ok. What's the deal?" Shuichi looked down at his lover with curiosity. _

"_I won't smoke as long as I have you." Eiri said in a chipper tone._

"_Seems simple enough." Shuichi mumbled to himself. _

"_So it's settled then?" Eiri asked holding out his hand._

"_You make it sound so formal; for god sake you're mine as it is!" Shuichi laughed._

"_Since when was I property?!" Eiri stomped his foot on the concrete._

"_Since when did you mistake me for a business man?" Shuichi always had a better come back than Eiri. Every time. _

"_You're just afraid of making promises." Eiri spat out disgusted._

"_Oh, you think so?"_

"_Yeah, in fact I do."_

"_You're on." Shuichi said a competitive voice and they both shook hands as if they had just made a deal to collect a hundred souls only to damn them to hell._

* * *

"I'm sorry. I couldn't keep my promise."

* * *

A/N: I suppose this was just a filler chapter, but the last one is coming up. So enjoy X)


	13. The Hard Way

Story: Reverses Collide

Anime: Gravitation

Chapter 13(the last!): The Hard Way

* * *

Everyone at BD studios had thoroughly given up on trying to get Eiri back with the band after three weeks. He had enough money already to just live on his cigarettes and beer. Though it was not the lifestyle he had planned, it was all he had the energy to do since Shuichi had left him.

There was a big uproar of disappointment from the fans when it was announced that Nittle Grasper was no longer a band. Eiri obviously did not arrive at the press conference so it was Hiroshi, Tohma, and Noriko who broke the news. It was also mentioned that it was very unlikely for the band to join together again unless Eiri decided he'd be able to put up with the work.

Suguru and Hiroshi did their best to avoid calling Shuichi about the matter. They only wanted him to come back home when he was ready. Though there was a certain doubt that he would never come back. Finally, against Suguru's wishes, Hiroshi contacted Shuichi on the extra cell phone Suguru had given him before he left.

"Hello?" Shuichi's voice sounded tired as he answered.

"Shu…when are you coming back?" Hiroshi asked concerned.

"I told you I needed to think things over." He reminded. The conversation with Ryuichi didn't do very much to motivate him after it soaked in the first few hours.

"Isn't three weeks long enough?" He was getting annoyed with Shuichi's obliviousness to the situation at hand.

A long sigh came from the other end of the phone and Shuichi spoke clearly, "How bad is it?"

Hiroshi thought of way to make it less shocking for his friend, "Well…He punched Tohma, insulted Suguru, quit the band and picked up his smoking and drinking again." He paused to make sure Shuichi was listening, "I saw him about five days ago to check on him. He's fallen so low. Eiri's just a kid; I couldn't help but pity him." There was still silence from Shuichi's end as Hiroshi said the next thing, "He's nothing without you, Shu. I think he'll be able to get through his darkness within a couple months and start working again, but I know he'll be bitter. Like you were inside after Kitazawa."

"That was different." Shuichi said quickly to defend himself.

"How?" Hiroshi felt like Shuichi had totally given up, "Someone he thought he could trust and love, betrayed him and left him there to rot. Tell me, Shuichi. How is it different?"

There was no response, but Hiroshi knew that he was listening, "He loves and misses you so much. I can guarantee in the end he'll find someone else. How can you live with yourself though?"

"Stop it…" A pained whisper came from Shuichi's end.

"Putting him through that." Hiroshi continued. His intentions were to make Shuichi break. So far it was going as planned.

"Stop it, Hiro…" Shuichi pleaded as he curled into a ball on his hotel room bed. He felt defenseless and weak as memories of the incident flooded his vision with tears. "Please…"

"You're no better than Kitazawa!" _Just a little more._

"STOP IT!" Shuichi bellowed and threw the cell phone against the wall across the room, efficiently shattering the device.

The loud crack that came to Hiroshi's phone hurt his ear, but even if that was the case, he smiled and closed his phone. His mission had been completed. "See you soon, Shuichi."

* * *

_He doesn't love me. Otherwise he would have never put me through this._ Eiri's thoughts were starting to turn against his affection for the writer. Even though deeply he knew that he'd never stop loving Shuichi. _I wonder why I keep coming here. This stupid place. Where I met that stupid man._

Like always these days, he had a cigarette dangling from his lips as he had his arms folded leaning against the railing of the serene park. _That stupid man…_ Eiri's thoughts wandered. _That I love...damnit Shuichi._ A tear escaped his control and he quickly wiped it away.

The sky was already dark and the stars were his only company as he pondered his emotional debates. "I wonder…" He thought out loud to himself, "If I jumped from here. If he would save me in time." Eiri thought back to the night that he believed Shuichi was planning to do what he was thinking through.

"Of course I would." A familiar voice came from not too far away. Their tone was casual, but inside it made Eiri's heart beat fast. "You really shouldn't be smoking you know."

But, Eiri being Eiri, he pretended not to care. Eiri ignored the comment about the smoking, expecting it. He continued to stare off in the distance, "I wouldn't be so sure."

Shuichi came out of the darkness. He swallowed hard at Eiri's response, "You were right about me being afraid to make a promise." He had his hands formed into fists deep in his pockets. Just wanting to hold Eiri. To let him know how he felt.

"Why should you have been afraid if you knew you were going to break it anyway?" Eiri was doing a much better job hiding his true feelings than Shuichi, and he knew it. He took the cigarette from his mouth, threw it down and firmly ground it into the concrete with his shoe to confirm it was out. Eiri then turned to Shuichi who was about three meters away, doing his best to hold a straight face.

_I'm so sorry, Eiri…_ The silence ate at the two of them; waiting for the other to make a move. Eiri stood his ground though, and kept his eyes narrowed at the man who had turned his life upside-down.

Shuichi finally decided to walk over to the younger man, still deciding what to do once he was closer to him. Eiri only looked up at him with cold eyes as Shuichi placed a hand on his cheek.

Only now Shuichi couldn't control the tears anymore. Though they weren't visible in the dim light, Eiri knew he was crying. Finally, Shuichi couldn't contain himself he was embracing Eiri tightly in his arms.

Eiri eyes were wide as he couldn't find the air to breathe and he could feel himself start to let silent tears escape also. "Shuichi…" He managed to get past his lips.

Shuichi held Eiri as close as he could, "I'm so sorry Eiri…" He softly whispered in his ear, just enough not to tickle him. "I love you so much…please…"

Eiri smiled, tired but still relieved and returned Shuichi with a tight embrace. "I forgive you, Shuichi." He closed his eyes, "Don't ever leave me again…" He said choking on his tears. He buried his face into Shuichi's chest and breathed in his essence.

Shuichi broke the embrace since now they were kneeling on the sidewalk to face each other, "I won't…I promise." He pulled Eiri into a kiss which Eiri didn't resist. It was the love he had wanted all along.

* * *

"You don't taste as good anymore." Shuichi stated as the two walked back to the apartment. Though he had enjoyed feeling the boy's lips again, it bothered him to know Eiri was hurting himself the way he was. "The cigarette smoke really makes you smell weird too." He wrinkled his nose even though he had his arm wrapped around Eiri's shoulders.

"Hey, you didn't keep up your end of the bargain, why should I have tried?" Eiri reminded him.

"At least mine wasn't life threatening." Shuichi argued, "You're going to die of cancer before you're thirty."

Eiri laughed at this, "Oh, like losing you wasn't life threatening? Give me a break." Shuichi was surprised with Eiri's hidden sense of affection, but still smiled.

"Being away from you wasn't exactly the best time of my life either you know." Shuichi mumbled nonchalantly.

"Really? That's a surprise. You should have come home sooner then." Eiri replied blankly, being the one to point out the obvious for once.

"I was afraid of you." Shuichi admitted.

"Afraid of _me_? That's the stupidest thing I've heard of in awhile." Eiri stifled his chuckle as best as he could.

"Well, when you love someone it's hard not to be afraid of them a little bit. Because when they have you so tightly wrapped around their finger, you want to trust them." Shuichi explained maturely.

Eiri smiled sincerely as he leaned his head against Shuichi's chest, "Sounds like a sappy romance novel."

"Eh." Shuichi sighed relieved, "Love's just like that." And pulled Eiri close to him.

"It would seem so." Eiri agreed; taking in everything he could. He thought it was bizarre, that even he would have a happy ending. _It's like Shuichi said though…love's just like that._ He decided to himself, content.

A bit of that emotion wore quickly as Shuichi saw the damage done to his apartment. "Eiri…what the _hell_ did you do when I was gone?" He asked afraid of the answer.

Eiri nervously laughed, "Believe it or not, all I did was drink and smoke. I guess the smoke made everything look darker."

Shuichi coughed, "It doesn't help all the curtains aren't drawn back." He pulled the string and revealed the bright shine of the moon.

"Noo!!" Eiri fell to the floor, "The light!!"

Shuichi looked down at him and sighed, "Eiri…even you should know that vampires actually enjoy the moonlight."

Eiri's face turned to embarrassment as he realized how stupid he had just acted and sat up, "Well I'm no Anne Rice fan." He mumbled looking to the side with a frown.

Shuichi laughed, "Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. The bill to get the smell out of this place is coming out of your pocket."

_Shit…that's going to cost a lot._ Eiri then smirked, "Are you sure there isn't some other way I can pay for it?" He asked mischievously.

Shuichi raised an eyebrow, "You're going to have to be pretty good to make up the comparison." He said in a serious voice, his arms crossed.

Eiri's smirk didn't fade, "Oh, I think I'm capable." And he launched himself at Shuichi, both of them landing on the couch with a thud.

Shuichi returned the action with a gesture of his own by grabbing a handful of Eiri's hair and closed his eyes as he kissed Eiri forcefully and with so much hunger, left Eiri gasping for air when it was broken.

Between his heavy breaths, Eiri managed to whisper an "I love you" and rested his head on Shuichi's collarbone.

"I love you too, Eiri." Shuichi closed his eyes, holding Eiri as close as possible as they wanted the serene moment not to end.

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A/N: Wow! It's done! Thanks for all your support guys, you're such awesome reviewers XD I probably wouldn't have finished it if you guys weren't so persistent X3

I have a few more Gravi fics coming up soon, so keep an eye out ;D


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